


The Paladin Of Pennhurst

by CalvinHGatsby



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:27:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 30,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22709980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CalvinHGatsby/pseuds/CalvinHGatsby
Summary: After Eleven's “death”, Mike Wheeler fled Hawkins. 3 months later, a young amnesiac is shipped off to Pennhurst State School & Hospital and nicknamed Paladin. While a kind doctor tries to find his identity, Paladin faces horrible conditions, cruel orderlies, and an abusive superintendent bent on breaking his spirit. All while he holds onto his only memory: a girl named El.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 42
Kudos: 47





	1. Meeting Paladin

**Author's Note:**

> I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS. THIS TAKES PLACE AFTER SEASON ONE. SOME CHAPTERS CONTAIN MENTIONS OF ABUSE. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

_October 7, 1984. Spring City, Pennsylvania._

There were three persons present in the office of Dr. Josiah B. Brown. One was Dr. Josiah himself. He was a handsome white man with short polished black hair and a matching goatee. He wore a white coat and had these deep brown eyes that stared deep into you. He spoke with a British accent because he had originally been born in Liverpool before becoming a forgiven exchange student to further his education in America. The other man was a much older man by the name of Benjamin Powell. Mr. Powell was a man from the town of Gladstone, Pennsylvania whose son had been missing for several weeks. The third occupant of the office was Paladin. Paladin was a young boy of about 14 or close to it. He had a mop top of brown hair and brown eyes along with pale white skin. He was wearing nothing but a hospital gown, a pair of underwear, and a pair of socks.

"So this is your mystery boy?" Powell asked as Dr. Josiah nodded.

"Poor boy was found wandering the streets of Pittsburg, dazed and confused." He explained. "The authorities sent him here to us. When he was found, he was suffering from amnesia. He had no idea who he was or where he was from. He had no valuables on him except a Paladin game piece from the table top game _Dungeons and Dragons_. As a result, the media has dubbed him "The Paladin of Pennhurst. We have tried running his picture in the news papers and the television stations in hopes that someone will identify him as a friend or loved one and while many seeking lost sons or brothers have come to our facilities hoping for a happy reunion...so far, he has not been claimed."

"So, he has forgotten everything?"

"I'm afraid that's right, he has not a single memory to comfort him." Mr. Powell walked around Paladin and then finally, shook his head.

"This boy is not my son." He stated. "My Davy has a birthmark on his left arm, your boy has no such mark." Ben Powell was escorted out as Dr. Josiah sighed.

"Another dead end." Paladin replied.

"I'm sorry to keep bringing you in here Paladin." The doctor apologized. "I have a suspicion that some people come here merely to satisfy a curiosity...nonetheless, we are obliged to see them in case there's a chance that they could shed some light on your past." Paladin nodded as he noticed a worn book on Dr. Josiah's desk. _The Wizard Of Oz_ by L. Frank Baum. The letter L caught Paladin's attention.

* * *

_Paladin saw himself in a basement. A storm was raging outside. He was kneeling next to a pillow fort. Next to him was a young girl with a shaved head, dressed in his clothes. The girl seemed familiar, but he could not be sure._

_"What if we called you El, short for Eleven?" Paladin asked. The girl nodded while her big brown eyes bore into him. Paladin tried to tell her his name, but no sound came out._

* * *

"Paladin, are you all right?" Dr. Josiah inquired as he touched the boy's shoulder. "You spaced out for a minute."

"I...I saw something." Paladin said as Dr. Brown's eyes widened.

"Was it a memory?" He asked.

"It was...more like...a feeling."

"A Feeling can be the footprint of a memory. What did you feel?"

"I was in someone's basement, maybe it was my basement." Paladin explained. "There was a kind of...a fort, made of pillows and blankets; I was talking to a girl."

"This girl, was she a sister, or a friend?" The doctor asked.

"I don't know, I knew her from somewhere. When I saw the L on the cover of your book, I thought of her. I remember asking if I could call her El, because it was short for Eleven."

"Did you see what she looked like?"

"She was a little younger then me. Her head was shaved, she was wearing someone else's clothes. I could tell that this girl was important, we were close..."

"This is excellent." Dr. Josiah smiled. "The image of the girl, the word association. Your realizing that she was close to you. This is progress. You could be on the verge of a breakthrough."

"Or I could be imaging things." Paladin offered.

"Paladin." Josiah said as he took the boy's hands in his. "You must not give into despair. You have every reason to hope. Your identity is not gone. It is merely...hidden, and as your primary doctor, it is my duty to help you find it. Each memory you have is a clue to who you are. We must follow the clues wherever they may lead us."


	2. Will Byers Misses His Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will tries to exist in a world without Mike Wheeler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS. THIS STORY WILL GO BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN HAWKINS AND PENNHURST

_Hawkins, Indiana._

Will Byers sat through Mr. Clarke's science class, his eyes always gazing over to the empty desk next to his. It had been several months since Mike Wheeler had run away from Hawkins, but the pain of his friend's absence had not faded with time. The party still felt incomplete. They didn't go over to The Wheeler house anymore. His mother spent all of her spare time crying and even Nancy was inconsolable, despite Steve and Jonathan coming together to help her. They hadn't played Dungeons and Dragons since Mike had left, they had only played one game after he was gone, but they gave up after two minutes and went home. No one could be as good of a dungeon master as Mike was. Things had been somber after Eleven died, but after Mike went away, the party was on the verge of collapse. The guys could not handle one more bad thing. The only thing that kept them from breaking up as their interest in Hawkins's newest arrival. Max Mayfield, or Mad Max as she was known at the arcade, was intimidating and awesome at the same time. At first, she had called out the guys for stalking her, but after they had invited her to go trick or treating, she had been welcomed into the party on a trial basis.

"I could be your zoomer." Max offered.

"That's not a real thing." Will pointed out.

"It could be." She replied as she did moves on her skateboard. "See, zoomer." Max made her way into full party membership with almost no problems. The party spent their days at the arcade, watching Mad Max kick major ass on every game. Dustin and Lucas were both competing for Max's affections. Will, on the other hand, still missed Mike terribly. He missed Eleven as well, even though he had never met her. If Eleven had survived, Mike would still be there. It all came to a head one night when the party was hitting up the arcade. Max was killing it on Dig Dug and making all of the other boys her bitches.

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "800,000 points! I broke my own record!"

"Son of a bitch!" Dustin groaned to Lucas. "I used to be Dig Dug champion. I moved the floor with all you guys: you, Will, even Mike." Will froze at the sound of that name.

"I'd mop the floor with that loser on any game here." Max bragged as Will shot daggers at her.

"He's not a loser...you bitch!" Will exclaimed in anger. He ran out as the other party members were in shock.

"What the Hell is his problem?" Max asked in shock.

"Will is just really sensitive when it comes to Mike." Lucas replied.

"I'll go after him." Dustin replied as he went out to find the youngest Byers boy sitting on the curb feeling sorry for himself. Dustin came up and sat next to him.

"What the Hell was that all about?" He asked.

"Mike isn't a loser." Will insisted.

"She didn't mean it like that." Dustin explained. "Max was just on a winning streak, you know how she is."

"I don't care. She has no idea about Mike."

"It's not her fault, she doesn't know what happened."

"Then why don't we tell her?"

"You know why Will."

"No I don't Dustin." Will insisted. "She's a member of the party now. We wouldn't be breaking the rule of law."

"It's still dangerous." Dustin argued. "Besides she would never believe a story about a girl with mind powers fighting a Demogorgon."

"Couldn't we just leave out the part about the Upside Down, and Eleven having powers?"

"The story wouldn't make any sense without it."

"I know, it's just...I miss Mike." Will said as he teared up.

"We all do." Dustin replied as he put his arm around Will's shoulder. "We just have to try and get over it. Sooner or later, we have to accept the fact that he's not coming back."

"Is that what you guys did when I went missing?" Will asked bitterly. "Just write me off?"

"Come on Byers, you were gone for a week." Dustin countered. "Mike has been gone for months. Besides, it wasn't your fault. You were taken by the Demogorgon. Mike ran away. He chose to leave us."

"His heart was broken!" Will shouted. "Trust me, I know the feeling."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DESPITE THE ADDITION OF MAD MAX MAYFIELD, THE PARTY IS ALL BUT BROKEN. CAN THESE HEROES SURVIVE WITHOUT THEIR PALADIN? REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.


	3. Breakfast At Pennhurst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paladin suffers through a typical morning in the asylum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SCENES OF ABUSE. READER DISCREATION IS ADVISED.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania._

The sun shone brightly through the windows as Paladin woke up. He never really felt comfortable on the cot that was his bed. However Paladin was fortunate to be in Q1. Q1 was where the patients who were determined to be "curable" were housed. It was one hundred times worse in Q2. Q2 was the worst place in Pennhurst. It was where they sent the lost causes, the hopeless cases, the worst of the worst. The patients in Q2 were made to sleep in cribs, their limbs tied to the bedposts to prevent thrashing. As he opened his eyes, one of the orderlies: McLaughlin, came in and began his usual morning routine of banging two pots together in a loud fashion.

"Get up, you lazy smelly things!" He shouted. "It's breakfast time." As Paladin got up and began walking to the cafeteria, he bumped into one of only two friends that he had in Pennhurst: Jacob Wolff.

"Hi Paladin." Jacob said as he walked next to the older boy.

"Hey Jacob, how was your evening?"

"Jacob slept all right." He replied. Jacob always referred to himself in the third person. It was an effect of his illness. He was slower than most boys his age, but he was competent enough.

"I'm starving."

"They're not making us eat mush again, are they?"

"You will eat what is put in front of you or you will go hungry." The orderly said as he walked past them. The boys walked over to the the cafeteria building. As they entered the cafeteria, the patients from the female building were arriving.

"Paladin, Jacob!" One of the younger girls said as she rushed over to them. Her name was Laura Matarazzo. She was a rather peculiar case. She was not suffering from any sort of mental disorder, she had been dumped in Pennhurst by her father who claimed that she was schizophrenic, even though she did not suffer from the disease. Laura's old man was a key figure in Spring City society and he was bake to pay the bills for her stay, thus his word was taken at face value.

"Hi Laura." Jacob sat as the three sat down at their usual table.

"What's the word?" She asked.

"You'll never guess what Weitz did last night." Paladin said. "Some kid was mouthing off and he spit in the kid's face."

"I wouldn't put it past him." Laura sighed. "What happened to the kid?"

"They sent him to Q2." Jacob replied.

"Just for talking back?" The girl asked in shock. "He must have said something really bad. Q2 was often used as a form of punishment for disobedient kids. You could be sent in for a day or a week, depending on the severity of your offense. Paladin was about to say something when the whole lunch hall grew quiet. Superintendent Alvin Weitz made his way into the lunchroom along with his orderlies. Weitz was a slimy looking man with short brownish grey hair, stubble on his face, and huge eyes, constantly on the lookout for mischief. The staff to patient ration at Pennhurst was awful. There was one superintendent, 10 doctors, including Dr. Josiah, and 50 orderlies. They were in charge of 2,800 patients. As Superintendent Weitz and the orderlies sat down at their special table, he called the lunchroom to order. As the children stood up to face Weitz, one child was being hyperactive and an orderly cuffed him in the back of the head.

"Good morning my children." He said in his slimy voice.

"Good morning Mr. Weitz." The patients replied in unison.

"I have big news today: our annual cotillion will be happening at the end of this month. It is a lovely gift from the board of directors and I expect all of you to help prepare for it. He or she who does not work, neither shall they dance...understand?"

"Yes Mr. Weitz!"

"Good...let us pray." Everyone bowed their heads as Weitz made the sign of the cross. "Oh lord, bless this food to our use and us to your service...amen."

"Amen!" The patients repeated as they sat down to eat. The food staff came through and gave each child a bowl of oatmeal. It was never enough to fill their stomachs, but it was they would get until lunch.

"Mush again." Jacob replied dejectedly.

"At least on Sundays they give us sugar in the oatmeal." Laura replied, looking on the bright side. Paladin said nothing as he ate his oatmeal. As he ate, he found that he had the sudden craving for... _Eggos_. He could not explain it, but the frozen waffles held some significance for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CAN PALADIN AND HIS PALS SURVIVE UNDER THE IRON FIST OF ALVIN WEITZ? REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.


	4. Eleven’s Not Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleven struggles with live in captivity.

_Hawkins, Indiana._

Chief Jim Hopper sighed as he walked into his cabin. It was hard having to drive all the way out to the woods everyday, but after the department of energy had bugged his old home, it didn't feel safe anymore. He did the secret knock and the door opened for him. As he walked inside, he saw a half eaten Eggo on the kitchen table.

"I thought we had this conversation already kid." The Chief said as he hung up his coat. "Dinner before dessert."

"Needed Eggos." A voice came from a bedroom. Hopper went inside to find Eleven lying on her bed.

"Are you OK?" He asked as he stepped inside. Eleven said nothing as Hopper took his hat off. "You tried to find Mike again, didn't you?" She nodded in dispair.

"I can't find him...in the void...I don't know why...I could do it before." She replied. Eleven had been trying reach Mike for weeks. When she had first returned from the Upside Down, she had been able to see him in the void. For the last few months though, she had not been able to find him and Eleven was getting scared for the boy who kissed her.

"I don't know either." Hopper agreed. At this point, he was beginning to fear that the Wheeler boy might actually be dead, be he wasn't even going to there with Eleven.

"Is Mike still away?" She asked as the Chief nodded. When Mike had ran away from Hawkins, Jim had no idea what to tell Eleven, so when she asked if he had seen Mike, and ask she did, he simply told her that Mike had went away and that he didn't know when the boy would be back.

"He needs me." Eleven insisted. Somehow, she knew it was her fault that Mike had went away. Before she was unable to see him in the void, he had been depressed, calling her on the walkie-talkie, begging for a sign that she was alive. Eleven had wanted to say something, anything to let Mike, her Mike, know that she was OK. Alas, Hopper had forbade such a thing. It was stupid and they weren't stupid.

"I know that you miss him and I'm sure that he misses you, but honestly, you are the last thing he needs right now." The Chief said as he rubbed her back. He had no way of knowing how wrong he was, but he could not be blamed for that.

"I have to see Mike." Eleven stated as Hopper groaned.

"I know and I want you to see him and all of the other kids, but you just can't do it right now." He explained. "I am trying to work things out with the men at the lab so that the bad men will leave you alone, but until we can come to an agreement, you need to stay hidden, so you can stay safe."

"I want Mike." Eleven replied as she turned away.

"I know kid, you just can't see him right now." Hopper sighed as he walked out of the room. All the girl ever talked about was Mike this and Mike that. It was where is Wheeler all day and all night. The chief could not understand for the life of him, why Eleven was so obsessed with the Wheeler boy. He knew that he had been keeping her at his house during the week of Will Byers's disappearance, but he did not think that they had gotten that close. From the way that the girl talked about him, it sounded as if she was in love with Mike Wheeler. He could tell that there were feelings exchanged between the children. The same feelings that Jim Hopper himself, on occasion, felt for Joyce Byers. Those feelings stabbed in the gut like you would not believe. He wanted Joyce, but she was dating Bob Newby. No matter how much Jim wanted her, you just don't go after another guys girl. You just did not do things like that. Besides, Joyce was finally happy now. Happier than she had ever been with Lonnie Byers. What right did Hopper have to get in the of Joyce's happiness? He loved her far too much to be so selfish. Yet, at the same time, he was being selfish in keeping the truth from Eleven. Did she not have a right to know where Mike was, or where he wasn't? Chief Hopper always tried to justify his actions by saying that he was only trying to keep the young girl safe and away from Dr. Martin Brenner and the department of energy. Eleven referred to them as "the bad men". He couldn't risk her being taken back, not even to help Mike.


	5. Talking To Dr. Josiah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paladin tries to inform Dr. Josiah of Weitz’s cruelty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF ABUSE. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania_

Paladin was sitting in Dr. Josiah's office. It was time for their daily therapy session. As Paladin looked around, he felt comfortable at seeing how nice the doctor's office was. It was a very roomy office with two filing cabinets, two comfortable chairs, a large desk and chair for Dr. Josiah and a fireplace. As the doctor sat at his desk, Paladin sat down in a chair to face him.

"So Paladin, how are you feeling today?" Dr. Brown asked.

"Honestly, a little discombobulated." Paladin replied.

"Any new memories?"

"Not yet." Josiah could tell that Paladin was upset about something. It was the look in his eyes.

"Is there something wrong Paladin?" He asked as the boy looked at him.

"Some of the patients are getting hurt real bad." Paladin replied.

"In what way?" Dr. Josiah asked as he pulled out his yellow notepad.

"It's Weitz and his orderlies, they give us freezing baths every morning and night, they have us eat oatmeal three times a day, and they constantly call us names and treat us like animals." Paladin explained. The doctor was skeptical to say the least. He himself had no idea what Alvin Weitz was like behind closed doors.

"I understand that things have been hard for you the past week or so, but please...try not to turn your frustration with your recovery onto superintendent Weitz." Dr. Josiah asked.

"I know what I'm saying." Paladin argued. "After the baths, the orderlies have us sit naked with the windows wide open, just to watch us shiver."

"More likely, they are doing it to allow you some fresh air." Josiah offered.

"You don't know them." The boy shot back. "Jacob told me one time about a boy in Q2, he asked for a glass of water at ten in the morning and he didn't get it until five in the afternoon. Other kids go number one and number two and lay in it for hours because no one changes their diapers. Every kid here has a story to tell."

"Just because these children believe those stories does not make them true." The doctor replied, not believing that such things actually happened in Pennhurst.

"Most of these kids aren't nuts." Paladin pleaded. "Yes, some of them were born with broken brains, but a lot of them had been made crazier since they came to Pennhurst. Being beaten, verbally attacked, the baths, the lack of care...some of these kids are mentally retarded, but most of them are not crazy. I am not crazy!" Dr. Josiah gave him a look that said _sure_...

"Paladin..."

"You think I'm raving, don't you?"

"I think that you are passionate when you feel that an injustice has been done." Josiah replied.

"Is that a bad thing?" Paladin inquired.

"No, there's nothing wrong with passion as long as it does not tip over into obsession and mania." The doctor replied. Paladin sighed as he leaned back his chair. It was hard for him to think straight in this place. He wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't.

"Am I crazy?" He asked. "I don't think I am."

"Paladin, I've studied mental illness long enough to know a lunatic when I see one. I assure you, you are not crazy." Dr. Josiah asserted. "There are many ways that a broken mind can manifest itself besides insanity. There is a theory that some forms of Amnesia are believed to be caused by a great trauma and the brain pushes all memories out as a sort of defense mechanism because the person is incapable of coming to terms with what happened to them."

"So, you think that something horrible happened to me and I couldn't handle it?" Paladin said quietly.

"I'm saying that it is a likely scenario." Brown said as he walked over to the boy. "You've told me about Jacob and Laura and the other children...but what about you Paladin...what happened to you?" Paladin looked up at the doctor with empty eyes.

"I don't know..."

"That must be the focus of our work together: finding out who you are and what led you to Pennhurst." Dr. Josiah stated. "As for superintendent Weitz, I haven't had very many dealings with him, but according to the staff, they have never seen him raise a hand to any child...although they did say that he can be rather snippy."

"That's a understatement." Paladin replied.

"Look, I'm not calling anyone a liar, it is possible that perhaps some of the orderlies have overstepped their bounds; but even if they did, it does not mean that they did so with Weitz's direction or knowledge." Josiah argued. Paladin just hung his head, not knowing what to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WILL DR. JOSIAH EVER SEE THE TRUTH OF WHAT GOES ON IN PENNHURST? REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.


	6. The Wheeler Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wheeler’s try to cope with Mike’s disappearance.

_Hawkins, Indiana_

Ted Wheeler sat in his Lay-Z-Boy, watching television as he always did. As he did this, a tired and altogether worn down Karen Wheeler walked into her home. She had been hard at work all that day. Mrs. Wheeler had gone to the town of Lebanon, Indiana to hang up missing person posters for Mike. She was the only one who did. Ted could no longer be bothered, not that he had ever really done much in the beginning. Most people assumed that grief was the reason for Ted Wheeler's lack of emotion, but those close to the Wheeler family knew the truth: Ted was just a lazy bum; always had been, always would be. Karen set all of her stuff down, she went into the living room and saw Ted in his habitat.

"How was it?" He asked as Karen shook her head.

"I didn't find him." She replied. "Your son is still missing, if you care."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ted asked as he looked up at his exhausted wife.

"You never help me look for Mike!" She exclaimed. "All you do is stay at home and lay on your ass!"

"That's a load of manure Karen." He insisted. "I have a job, I work hard to support this family. I need time to rest."

"I've been the one who's hanging up the posters, who does the interviews, I'm the one who always goes down to the police station to make sure that Jim Hopper keeps looking for our son."

"You go there every day and every day he tells you the same thing: They haven't found him."

"You are so pathetic Ted!" Karen shouted. "Why don't you just admit that you gave up looking for him a long time ago. You don't care about Mike, you never did."

"That is really unfair Karen." Ted shot back. "I'm the reason that you and the girls have a roof over your heads and food on your plates. I work hard for everything we have!"

"Wow, you're actually being a responsible adult. What do you want, a fucking medal?" Karen shouted as she and Ted continued to go back and forth; yelling at each other and cussing each other out. Ted and Karen Wheeler had often had their disagreements and had not been an intimate couple since the night that Holly was conceived, but their arguments had never reached this level of fury.

* * *

Meanwhile, up in her room, little Holly Wheeler was in her room, playing with her dolls, trying to drown out the horrible shouting and cursing that was taking place downstairs and failing miserably. Usually when her parents were fighting, her big brother Mikey would come in and tell her made up stories about dragons and brave warriors going on quests and beautiful princesses who found the loves of their life. It always made her feel better. So much so that she actually looked forward to her parents fighting because she got to spend time with her brother. Now there was no Mikey and their were no stories told. Holly was very young and she didn't quite understand where her brother was. No one had wanted to tell the young girl that Mike had run away from home. They were worried that Holly would feel that her brother had abandoned her; something he would never do of course, but still. Whenever Holly asked where her brother was, her big sister Nancy always told her that Mikey was sad and that he had gone away and when he came back, he would be happy again. Naturally, Holly believed it and Nancy's heart was just torn out having to lie to her little sister. She was too young to know the truth though, not even Ted and Karen knew about Eleven or the real reason that Mike ran away. Nancy felt the weight of the secret bearing down on her every day and it ate her up, just like having to keep what happened to Barb a secret from her parents. Lying to Ted and Karen wasn't too hard, she was used to keep secrets from them. It was lying to Holly that kept her up at night. It jaws torture having to look in her innocent eyes and spoon feed her bullshit.

"When is Mikey coming home from the happy place?" Holly often asked.

"I don't know, pretty soon I hope." Nancy replied. This was not a lie, as Nancy did hope that Mike would come home soon, alive and in one piece. The worst part was the not knowing, Nancy had no idea what her little brother was going through and it terrified her. It would terrify her still if she did know that her brother was trapped within the confines of Pennhurst.


	7. Weitz’s New Protocols

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Superintendent Weitz introduces new rules for the children of Pennhurst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF ABUSE. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania_

Paladin was milling about Q1 when superintendent Alvin Weitz appeared with a new regulation. All the children were fearful. Every time Weitz issued a new protocol, it meant pain and suffering for them.

"Good morning my children." He said in his usual tone of voice.

"Good morning Mr. Weitz." The patients harmonized.

"I have an important announcement to make." Weitz said as he paced around the room. "We have been having issues with some of our more violent patients over in Quaker Hall. Therefore, as of today, there will be new protocols implemented. First, all of our orderlies will be armed with self defense tools in order to maintain order amidst potential chaotic situations." Weitz snapped his finger and several orderlies came in brandishing night sticks. Some of the orderlies looked uncomfortable with their weapons while others seemed to enjoy twirling them around.

"Hungry." One of the boys said. An orderly by the name of Schnapp walked over and hit the boy in the gut with his stick. The boy groaned in pain as Schnapp got in his face.

"You eat when we say you eat, you sleep when we say you sleep, you piss when we say you piss and you shit when we say you shit." He growled. "You got me, or do I need to draw it in crayon like usual?"

"Anyway, the second protocol is that due to recent escape attempts in Mayflower hall and Hershey Hall, from now on, there will be restraints on all patients. Men, if you please..." Weitz explained as the orderlies began wrapping Chains around the left ankles of every child.

"Is this really necessary?" Paladin asked as Weitz came over and stared him down.

"You know what I hear?" He asked in a mocking tone. "I hear a child, asking if he can stay up past his bedtime. It is time for bed and these protocols are necessary. You are just going to have to take my word for it because you are a child, and you have no other choice." The children groaned as the chains were locked tightly around their ankles.

* * *

Later that day, Paladin arrived at Dr. Josiah's office for their daily therapy session. It was on this day that the good doctor got a glimpse at the dark side of his employer.

"Hello Paladin." The doctor greeted. "How are you feeling today?"

"Been better." He said as Josiah saw the chain around his ankle.

"What is this?" He asked. "Why is there a chain around your ankle?"

"The orderlies put it on us, under orders from Weitz." Paladin replied.

"Us? How many patients are wearing these?"

"All of them." Paladin replied as Dr. Brown was stunned.

"Does it hurt?" He inquired.

"It's really tight." Paladin commented.

"Follow me." Dr. Josiah said as he escorted Paladin over to the administration building where superintendent Weitz had his office. When they entered, Weitz was caught off guard.

"Dr. Brown, you should have told me you were coming." Weitz stated.

"I'd like to talk to you about Paladin's foot." Dr. Josiah said.

"How odd for a doctor of the mind to take a interest in the other end of our children."

"It seems that the orderlies have fastened his chains too tightly."

"Have they?" Alvin remarked, clearly uninterested. "I'll have a word with them."

"Yes and if you would loosen them now please?" Dr. Josiah insisted.

"Can't be done." Weitz said.

"Why not?" The doctor asked. "Do you not have the key?"

"There are 300 patients in Q1, 300 locks to be locked." The superintendent pointed out. "I don't have the manpower to spend all day adjusting ankle locks."

"I'm curious as to why they are on at all."

"To prevent escape attempts."

"That is absurd." Brown pointed out. "They do not stop movement."

"Why do you even care about his body at all?" Alvin questioned. "You're supposed to be treating his mind."

"Superintendent Weitz, the thoughts inside a body can be a determining factor as to the health of said body, more often than not." Dr. Josiah explained. "The mind and the body form a symbiotic circle. What happens to one will affect the other, you must understand this."

"Josiah, I went to college. I don't need another lecture."

"How about a demonstration then, the key please." Weitz grimaced as he handed over the key. Dr. Josiah bent down and loosened the chains on Paladin's ankle.

"Thank you Dr. Josiah." The boy said as the doctor smiled.

"Let us return to our session, good day Alvin." Josiah said as he escorted Paladin out. Weitz was fuming, thinking about how he would pay Paladin back for his insolence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WILL PALADIN SUFFER FOR GOING AGAINST WEITZ? REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.


	8. Karen Confronts The Chief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mrs. Wheeler is fed up with Jim Hopper’s lack of success in finding her son.

_Hawkins, Indiana_

Chief Jim Hopper walked into the Hawkins police station as he often did: tired as Hell. It used to be because he would stay up all night drinking and screwing, it now he had a kid to look after and she wore him down often. As the Chief made his way into the main office, he was relieved to have some time away from the constant "where's Mike" bullshit. Flo, however had other plans.

"Chief, I got a call from Murray Bauman. Says he has new information about the Holland case." She stated.

"That man's just tying to bleed those people dry, he needs to get a life." Hopper replied.

"Also, Karen Wheeler is in your office." Flo added as Jim let out a groan.

"I'll deal with it." He said as he went into his office to find a frustrated Karen Wheeler waiting for him.

"Where have you been, I've been waiting for almost an hour!" She exclaimed.

"I've been busy, I'm sorry." Hopper said as he sat down behind his desk.

"Has there been any news?"

"Karen, why would my answer be any different from the one I gave you yesterday or the day before that or the day before that or the god damn day before that. We have no new developments!" Karen grew pissed at this statement.

"You are not allowed to say that to me anymore!" She exclaimed. "I am going to sit here until you say something else to me. You have to say something else to me Jim!"

"I can't Karen!" Hopper shouted. "I have called every police department in Indiana. Mike is gone."

"What if he's in another state?" Mrs. Wheeler inquired.

"I don't know." The chief replied.

"Isn't there some kind of national database for missing kids?" She asked.

"At the moment, no." Hopper admitted. "There's some guy from Florida who's trying get one made, his name's John Walsh, I think, but it's still going through Congress."

"So, there's no way for you to know if Mike left Indiana?"

"Not unless someone notifies us."

"So you're basically telling me that there is nothing I can do?" Karen asked in disbelief.

"Look Karen, I wish there was something more that we could do, but there isn't." Hopper explained. "You have to remember, Mike wasn't kidnapped. He ran away. He chose to leave. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe, he doesn't want to be found?"

"I don't care what he wants Jim, he's my only son." She argued. As her head was spinning, a thought suddenly popped into her head.

"Hopper?"

"Yeah."

"Last year, during the week that Joyce's boy disappeared, a bunch of government agents came to our house..."

"Government agents?"

"Yes." Karen continued. "They told us that Mike May have been hiding some...girl in his basement." This got Chief Hopper's attention.

"Girl?" He asked on edge. "What kind of girl?"

"They had a mugshot, she had big brown eyes and her head was shaved and..." Karen splashed before Hopper interrupted her again.

"Look Karen, I'm gonna need you to do yourself a big favor and forget all about those agents and that girl, all right?" Hopper ordered, but Karen would not be silenced.

"Why?" She inquired. "Do they have something to do with my son's disappearance?"

"I can't answer that." The Chief replied as Karen caught on.

"You know something...you know what all this was about, don't you?" She asked incredulously.

"I can't talk about it."

"Are they involved in Mike running away?"

"Yes, but not in the way you think." Hopper admitted. "Did they take him away? I highly doubt it, but they are the reason he left. I absolutely can not tell you any more than that. Hell, even telling you just that is risky! The more you know, the more danger you are in and the more danger your family is in." Karen hardly knew what to say in the face of such a revelation.

"Jim, I..." She stuttered.

"Like I said Karen, go home, mind your family...and get used to the idea that Mike might not be coming back." Karen teared up as she walked out of the chief's office. Hopper hated to be so cruel to Karen, but he couldn't jeopardize Eleven's freedom by getting the lab mixed up in the Wheeler boy's stupidity. If he had just been able to push her out of his mind, he would have been happier for it. Although, Hopper had tried to put Joyce out of his mind...and he was failing miserably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WILL KAREN WHEELER SEE HER BOY AGAIN? WILL HOPPER DO SOMETHING OR IS THE PARTY ON THEIR OWN? REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.


	9. Eleven Fails A Test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paladin proclaims his faith in the mysterious Eleven and is punished for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS. TO THE GUESTS THAT HAVE REVIEWED THIS STORY, THANK YOU FOR READING AND KEEP REVIEWING. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SCENES OF ABUSE. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania_

The next day, Paladin was talking with Jacob when an alarm started blaring.

"What's going on?" Paladin inquired.

"New arrivals." Jacob replied. He and Paladin stood up to see a bus of new children and teenagers being brought into Pennhurst. As they got out, they were led towards Hershey Hall by several orderlies. As Paladin was watching, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Paladin, Weitz wants you to help with the new arrivals." McLaughlin said. "Let's go." The boy was dragged over to Hershey Hall where the new patients were being processed. The five boys and four girls were all lined up as Schnapp was looking them over. Suddenly, Weitz himself walked into the room.

"Good day my children." He said. "These are a couple of our orderlies: Mr. McLaughlin and Mr. Schnapp. I am Alvin Weitz, the superintendent of this facility. To the outside world, I am a public servant. To the staff, I am the man who sings their paychecks, and to all of you children...I am God." All of the new recruits looked scared as Hell.

"Strip, every one of you." Schnapp ordered as the kids slowly removed their clothes. McLaughlin brought in a huge hose and began blasting the naked kids with a powerful jet of water.

"Be gentle with them." Paladin begged.

"You had your bath last night, Paladin." Schnapp snarled. "Don't make me give you another one." After five long minutes, the hose was stopped and the kids were given their hospital gowns.

"McLaughlin, take the girls upstairs to the female wing and Schnapp, take the boys to Q1." Weitz ordered as the kids were herded away; except for one.

"Please, I don't belong here." The girl said. "My mommy's gonna come for me any minute!"

"I'm sure she'll be here before I'm a minute older." McLaughlin mocked. Paladin reaches out and shoved the orderly.

"I think you should leave her alone!" He exclaimed. This earned him a punch in the face. Weitz walked over to the boy and tilted his chin.

"The orderlies don't care what you think Paladin." He assured him. "Neither do I...in fact, no one cares about you in general." Weitz walked a few steps away before Paladin stopped him.

"Eleven cares about me." He whispered as the superintendent stopped in his tracks.

"What did you just say boy?" He asked in disbelief.

"I said, Eleven cares about me." Paladin repeated as Weitz chuckled.

"And who, pray tell, is Eleven?"

"She's...someone that I know. I don't know who she is, or where she is; but she is out there somewhere and she cares about me." Weitz said nothing for a few moments as he stared Paladin down. Suddenly, he got a gleam in his eye.

"McLaughlin, Schnapp, hold him and lift up his gown." Weitz ordered as the two orderlies held Paladin up and lifted up his gown, exposing his bare back.

"Let me go!" The boy exclaimed as the superintendent loosened his belt.

"I want to try a simple experiment." Weitz explained. "We are going to put love to the test. I'm gonna beat you with my belt and while I do, I want you to cry out to your precious Eleven to come save you. The deal is, the moment she shows up, I will stop hitting you, OK?"

"Screw you!" Paladin shouted. Weitz wound up and brought the buckle of his belt down hard on Paladin's back.

"Ahhhh!" He cried out in pain as the hits kept coming and coming.

"Feels pleasant, yes?" Weitz snarked as he continued his assault. Paladin started to cry as his skin began to crack and bleed from the hard metal.

"Come on Paladin?" Weitz laughed. "How will Eleven know to rescue you if you don't cry out?" Paladin tried to hold it in, but eventually he could hold it in no longer.

"ELEVEN!" He screamed loudly. "PLEASE SAVE ME!" Sadly, Eleven did not come as the beating went on for half an hour. When it was finished, Paladin's back looked like hamburger meat and Weitz's belt buckle was covered in the boy's blood.

"I guess she doesn't care that much." The superintendent said in a mocking tone. "Shame, I was so looking forward to making her acquaintance."

"Maybe next time." Schnapp chuckled.

"You and McLaughlin show these patients to their quarters, and take Paladin back to Q1." Weitz said as he wiped the blood off his belt, put it back on and walked out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WILL PALADIN HOLD FAST TO HIS FAITH IN ELEVEN? CAN ELEVEN SEE HIM IN THE VOID? REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.


	10. Will & Eleven Deal with Grief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Eleven both miss their Mike.

_Hawkins, Indiana_

Joyce Byers was doing some cleaning around the house when she heard a couple of soft sobs from the room of her youngest son. She opened the door the tiniest creak to see Will at his desk. He was clearly busy working on one of his drawings.

"Will?" Joyce softly asked as Will immediately wiped his tears and turned to face his mother.

"Oh, hey mom, I thought you and Bob were going out." He said.

"We are." She replied as she put her arm around Will's shoulder. "What about you, are you doing OK?"

"Yeah mom, I'm fine." Will told her as he went back to drawing. Joyce could tell that her boy was lying. Will was never very good at it.

"Will, it's OK to miss Mike." She said as she hugged him from behind. "He's your best friend."

"Mom, please...I really don't want to talk about Mike, OK?" Will pleaded. Joyce tried not to look hurt. She and Will used to be so close. He came to her with everything. Now, ever since Mike had ran away from home, Will had changed. He was more like Jonathan, and not in a good way. Jonathan had a nasty habit of keeping his pain bottled up, not letting anyone know that he was hurting. The only time he'd ever been that vulnerable was when Will had been taken to the Upside Down. Now, Will was the one keeping everything bottled up inside. It just was not like him.

"OK, baby...well, we won't be out too late." Joyce said as she kissed her son goodbye and went out to join Bob on their romantic night out on the town. After the two middle aged lovebirds had left, Will crumpled up the drawing that he had been working on, got up, flung himself down on his bed and cried. What tortured him the most about Mike being gone was not knowing what was happening to his friend. Although, if he had known what Mike was going through, he would have realized that ignorance really is bliss.

* * *

Meanwhile, miles away in the cabin of chief Jim Hopper, Eleven knew no such bliss. She was once again trying to contact Mike through the void. The TV was on static and Eleven had blindfolded herself. She focused harder than she ever had before. For a few minutes nothing happened, but eventually Eleven went into the void. For a few moments, she saw nothing. As Eleven moved closer though, she began to hear cries of pain. Eventually she came upon Mike, her Mike, wearing a gown like the one she had worn in the lab. He was beaten with a belt by a cruel looking man.

"This can end anytime Paladin." He stated. "All you have to do is admit that this Eleven is not coming, because she is not real."

"No!" Mike shouted. "She's real, I know it!"

"MIKE!" Eleven screamed as she rushed towards him. "DON'T HURT MIKE!" Alas, she found that she could not touch him and he could not hear her. She felt as though she was banging on a window, but could not make herself known. Once the beating was over, she saw two men in white dragging Mike away.

"Eleven...I'm sorry..." he groaned. Eleven wanted nothing more to hold him and kiss him and tell him that it wasn't her fault. She could have said that it was Hopper's fault for making the rule that she could not speak to Mike. Although, she had to admit that it was also her fault. She could have broken the rule and told him that she was all right. However, she did not. Eleven obeyed Hopper's stupid rules and now Mike was paying the price for it. Eleven left the void, flopped down on her bed and cried for her one true love.

"Mike would still be here if I had gone to the snow ball." She said to herself. They had promised to go to the snow ball together. When the day had finally come, she and Mike had spent the entire night in their rooms crying their eyes out. It was on that day that Mike had finally allowed himself to accept that Eleven was dead. If she was alive, she would have showed up or said something. Eleven would not have missed the snow ball. It was on that day that Mike had begun his nose dive into depression. For the next few months, he had become more withdrawn and more sad until finally on the day he left, Eleven saw him pack up his things, write out a note saying goodbye to his friends and family and hitching a ride out of Hawkins. Eleven had wanted to say something, anything, but Hopper told her that doing so would put him in danger and she had believed him like a fool.


	11. Paladin Remembers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paladin recovers more memories from his past.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania_

It had been a rough night for Paladin. He had not gotten very much sleep because his back was killing him. After Paladin choked down breakfast, he went for his daily session with Dr. Josiah.

"How are you feeling today Paladin?" Dr. Josiah asked.

"A little sore." Paladin replied.

"What seems to be the problem?" The doctor inquired. Paladin didn't really want to say why he was in pain. The last thing he needed was for Weitz to found out that he had snitched. Alvin Weitz was definitely the kind of asshole who would seek retribution for such an offense.

"Nothing doctor, my back's just a little sore." Paladin stated.

"Maybe we should take a look." Dr. Josiah said as he moved to lift Paladin's nightgown.

"Wait!" The boy exclaimed as he tried to protest, but it was no use. When the doctor saw the scars on Paladin's back, he looked as though he had been struck across the face.

"Who did this to you?" Josiah asked.

"I don't remember." Paladin lied. Dr. Josiah sighed, Paladin was a horrible liar.

"Paladin, I want to help you, but to do that, you must be completely honest with me." He insisted. Paladin sighed.

"It was Weitz." He stated.

"Superintendent Weitz did this to you?" Dr. Brown asked in disbelief. Paladin nodded.

"I was talking back and he went at me with his belt."

"This will have to be discussed." Paladin grew fearful at that statement.

"Please don't." He pleaded. "It will only make things worse."

"Paladin, he cannot get away with beating you." Brown insisted.

"He gets away with it all the time." He shot back. Up until now, Dr. Josiah would have probably dismissed such a claim. This time however, he could not. The proof was staring him right in the face. As much as he hated to admit it, the stories that Paladin had been telling about Superintendent Alvin Weitz and his orderlies had merit.

"Why was Superintendent Weitz beating you?" Josiah asked. Paladin looked down at the floor.

"I was talking about Eleven and he got angry." He replied.

"Eleven...this would be the girl that you have a connection with?"

"Yes...Weitz thinks that she is some kind of delusion and I guess he wants to beat her out of me."

"Do you believe that Eleven is a delusion?" Dr. Josiah asked. Paladin shook his head.

"She's real, I know it." He replied with determination in his voice, "She's out there somewhere, I know it. If I could just get out of here and find her..."

"I'm afraid you can't leave until you've recovered your memory, or until your family comes to claim you." The doctor sadly explained. Paladin sighed as he leaned back in the chair, ignoring the pain in his back.

"I have to do something!" He exclaimed. "I can't just stay here and rot in this place."

"Well, we could try to think of ways to help jog your memory." Dr. Josiah offered. "We already know that you enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons, can you think of any other pastimes that you like to partake in?"

"If there are, I can't remember any of them." Paladin sighed. "What about you?"

"Well, I remember when I was about your age, me and my best mate Clark Jenkins always loved to play a rousing game of Cricket." Dr. Josiah remarked. Something stuck in Paladin's head, the name Clark. Suddenly, Paladin felt a memory coming back to him.

* * *

_Paladin saw himself in a classroom. The students were leaving as the teacher was giving instructions. The name Mr. Clarke was on a card on the teacher's desk. Paladin was standing with two other boys who were his age. One was black and the other one had curly hair._

" _Remember, finish chapter 12 and answer 12." Mr. Clarke reminded the class. "3 on the difference between an experiment and other forms of science investigation. This will be on the test, which will cover chapters 10 through 12. It will be multiple choice with an essay section."_

_"So, did it come?" Paladin asked._

_"Sorry, boys, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but... it came." Mr. Clarke said. He had clearly been screwing with them, but the boys were so excited that they didn't care. They all went into another room where a huge ham radio was all set up._

_"Yes!" The boys cheered._

_"The Heath kit ham shack." Mr. Clarke introduced._

_"Whoa." One of the boys said._

_"Ain't she a beaut?" The teacher marveled at the mechanical wonder._

_"I bet you can talk to New York on this thing." The curly haired boy said._

_"Think bigger." Mr. Clarke said._

_"California?" The black boy offered._

_"Bigger."_

_"Australia?" Paladin asked as Clarke nodded._

_"Oh, man!" The black big exclaimed. "When Will sees this, he's totally gonna blow his shit."_

_"Lucas!" Mr. Clarke chided._

_"Sorry." Lucas replied. Suddenly, Paladin cut to the curly haired boy taking the controls from him._

_"Hello, this is Dustin Henderson, secretary and treasurer of Hawkins Middle AV Club." He said I to the microphone. "Do you eat kangaroos for breakfast?"_

* * *

"Paladin, are you all right?" Dr. Josiah asked as he brought the boy back to reality.

"I had another memory." He replied. "I was operating a ham radio with my friends...Lucas and Dustin...and we had a science teacher named Mr. Clarke...and...I went to Hawkins Middle School..." Dr. Josiah was ecstatic at this news.

"This is incredible, this is a huge breakthrough Paladin, now we have a place: Hawkins Middle School. I can do some digging around, if we can find out where Hawkins Middle School is, we can find out where your from and maybe even your family." Paladin was relieved at this, He was hopeful that his time at Pennhurst was almost over. Little did he know that the place was not done with him yet.


	12. Mr. Clarke Is Told The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will breaks the rule of law and confides in his science teacher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS. I THINK THAT SCOTT CLARKE IS AN UNDERRATED CHARACTER AND SHOULD HAVE MORE OF A PART IN THE STORY.

_Hawkins, Indiana_

Will Byers sat in his seat as he watched the clock tick by. He had always used to enjoy Mr. Clarke's science class, but it wasn't the same anymore. Nothing was the same anymore...without Mike. As for Dustin and Lucas, it was hard to be in Mr. Clarke's class without remembering the impossible mission they had pulled off. Neither Will nor Max had been there when the boys had snuck Eleven into Hawkins Middle School, it had been one of the party's finest hours. They had smuggled Eleven in in order to find Will by using the ham radio. Mr. Clarke had almost caught the party red handed, but they had preserved. The boys had stumbled through their story, but eventually worked out that Eleven was actually Mike's Swedish cousin Eleanor who was in town for Will's funeral. Will had found the story amazing when Mike told him about it. It had been hard form him to make it through the whole story without breaking down. Talking about Eleven was just torture for him so the party tried to bring her up as little as possible. As for Will himself, he was so caught up in his thoughts that he had not noticed that Mr. Clarke himself has stopped lecturing and come up to him.

"Are we boring you Will?" He asked as the boy snapped back to reality.

"No Mr. Clarke." Will replied. "I was just...distracted."

"I see...i'd like you to stay after class." He stated as the class chuckled at Will's expense. Will put his head down in embarrassment.

* * *

Eventually the class ended and everyone left for lunch. Everyone that is, except for Will Byers. He walked up to Mr. Clarke's desk where the science teacher was waiting for him.

"Do you know why I called you in here Will?" He asked.

"No." Will replied.

"You've been getting distracted for the past couple of months." Mr. Clarke explained. "You've been like this...ever since Mike left." Will turned his head away at the sound of that name.

"I just have a lot on my mind." He replied.

"Will, I understand that it's hard when you lose a friend." Mr. Clarke said. "I know what you are going through. That stopped Will dead center.

"No you don't."

"What did you say?"

"I said, no you don't!" Will exclaimed. "You don't have any idea about what I've been through, about what I suffered, you don't understand anything!"

"Then why don't you tell me?" Mr. Clarke asked.

"I can't." Will replied.

"Will, I want to help you, I really do; but in order for me to help you, I need to know what is going on." Mr. Clarke insisted. "You need to be honest with me." Will sighed. He knew that if he told the truth not only would be be breaking the rule of law by telling a stranger the truth, but he would also be putting Mr. Clarke in danger. However, Will had to tell someone. Besides, Mr. Clarke had always been his favorite teacher.

"All right, but you have to promise that you will not tell anyone about this." Will insisted.

"I promise, whatever you say will be between us." Mr. Clarke replied.

"It all started the night I went missing..." Will started to say.

* * *

It took over an hour, but Will managed to tell Mr. Clarke everything.

_How he had been taken by the Demogorgon._

_How Mike and the others and found Eleven on Mirkwood._

_How Will's death had been faked by Hawkins National Laboratory._

_How the boys had snuck Eleven into the school to contact Will._

_How Jonathan and Nancy had battled the Demogorgon._

_How the party had built a sensory deprivation tank in the gym._

_And how Eleven had sacrificed herself to save the party._ After Will had finished, Mr. Clarke was completely frozen. In all the time that he had known Scott Clarke, Will had never seen him at a loss for words. He always had something to say, but not this time.

"Mr. Clarke?" Will asked as the teacher stood up and looked out the window.

"Will Byers, I've known you for 4 years and in that time, you've never ever told a lie; even when you really wanted to." He commented. "My gut says that you are telling me the truth...but this is a truth I can't believe."

"Mr Clarke, I'm telling you the truth."

"Do you honestly expect me to believe a story like this?"

"Of course not, I went through all of it and I still can hardly believe it myself." Will shot back.

"Do you have any proof to back up these claims?" Mr. Clarke inquired. Will shook his head solemnly.

"The only proof we had was Eleven...and she's dead." He replied.

"So, you're asking me to accept this story solely...on faith?"

"That's all I can ask."

"You have to understand Will, accepting a story like this without any evidence...it goes against everything I stand for as a scientist." Mr. Clarke protested. Will stood up and moved to leave.

"You wanted me to be honest with you and I was." Will stated. "You can believe whatever you want."

"Will!" Mr. Clarke called out as the youngest Byers boy left his classroom. Alone with his thoughts, Scott Clarke sat down at his desk and sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WILL BYERS HAS BROKEN THE RULE OF LAW. WILL MR. CLARKE BELIEVE HIM? REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.


	13. Going In Deep Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paladin continues to suffer at the hands of Weitz while Dr. Josiah follows a lead.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania_

The day after Paladin recovered the memory of the Heath kit ham radio, he was talking with Jacob and Laura at lunch.

"So, do you actually think that Dr. Josiah can find your family?" Laura asked.

"He said he was going to look." Paladin replied.

"Jacob hopes that you find your family Paladin." Jacob said,

"Thanks." He replied as one of the orderlies by the name of Sink rang the bell, signaling the end of lunch. The boys returned to Q1 and Paladin played with Jacob while he waited for news from Dr. Josiah. After a while, Superintendent Weitz entered with Schnapp and Sink at his side.

"Paladin, I would like to have a word with you." Weitz said as Sink grabbed the boy and drug him along. They walked into a another room where a tub of water was filled to the brim.

"What is going on?" Paladin asked.

"Dr. Brown tells me that you do not fancy my treatment." Weitz replied. "You also have not stopped believing in your little fantasy about this Eleven character. When are you going to accept that she is not real? She is fake.”

"I won't." The boy replied.

"Well personally, I do not give a damn what you think." The Superintendent shot back. "Then again, I cannot have you running your mouth to that foolish man every five minutes. As if I don't have enough things on my plate to deal with. I guess we will just have to nip this in the bud." He motioned to Schnapp who grabbed Paladin by his hair and dunked his head into the tub. After a minute, he pulled his head back out.

"Is Eleven real?" Weitz asked a gasping Paladin.

"Yes, she is..." he replied as Weitz motioned for Schnapp to dunk his head again. After another minute, he brought the boy's head back up.

"You know, this can end anytime you wish it to Paladin, all you have to do is confess that Eleven is an invention of your mind." Alvin said. "All you have to do is say three words, just three words: Eleven's...not...real..." Paladin looked up at Superintendent Weitz with defiance.

"Eleven...is...real!" He spat. Weitz shook his head as Schnapp dunked the poor boy once more.

* * *

While Paladin was being tortured at the hands of orderly Schnapp under the orders of Superintendent Weitz, Dr. Josiah B. Brown was busy in his office. He had been searching through atlases and maps of the United States. As he was searching, he had not noticed one of his fellow doctors looking in at him. Dr. David Horowitz had been working at Pennhurst for 5 years. Like Josiah. He was a kind and compassionate doctor, but he lived in fear under Alvin Weitz and his iron fist.

"What are you up to Josiah?" David asked as His colleague was caught off guard.

"Following a lead on Paladin's case." Dr. Josiah replied. "He remembered going to Hawkins Middle School. I searched for any town in the United States Named Hawkins."

"Did you find one?"

"I found four. One in Texas, one in Idaho. One in Wisconsin, and one in Indiana."

"The closet one to us is Indiana." Dr. Horowitz pointed out.

"Exactly, I found an Indiana guide book and I found a Hawkins middle school in Hawkins, Indiana." Dr. Brown explained.

"So, now what?" Horowitz asked.

"Now, I'm going to call the school." Brown answered. "Paladin told me that he remembered a teacher named Clark. If I can confirm that this Clarke is employed there, I'll have reasonable cause to call the local police department."

"Call?" David inquired. "Why not just submit a report?"

"Because I would need authorization from Superintendent Weitz." Josiah replied.

"You're going behind Weitz's back?" Dr. Horowitz said nervously.

"I don't trust him." Dr. Josiah insisted. "His methods are way out of line. He's been subjecting the boy to inhuman treatment. I do not think that he has Paladin's best interests at heart."

"You're playing with fire Josiah, I hope you know that."

"I have to do something." Dr. Josiah said as he picked up the phone and called the number he had found.

"Hawkins Middle School, how can I help you?" The secretary asked.

"Hello, My name Is Dr. Josiah Brown, I was calling to ask, do you have a Mr. Clarke employed at your school?"

"Yes sir, Scott Clarke is our science teacher and the head of our AV club." She replied.

"Thank you very much." Josiah said as he hung up. "It all fits...Paladin came from Hawkins."


	14. Hopper Gets A Lead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chief Hopper begins to close in on Mike’s whereabouts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS. BILL BALDINI AND HIS EXPOSE ON PENNHURST ARE REAL. IT IS AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE. WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF ABUSE. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

_Hawkins, Indiana._

Chief Jim Hopper stumbled into his office after a long night. Eleven had been sick and had been puking on and off all night and he had been up all night taking care of her. Naturally, she had cried for Mike.

"I want Mike." She wept as her head hovered over the toilet.

"I know kid." He replied. He would never admit it, but he wished the Wheeler kid was there. He would have sat up with Eleven absent complaint and he could have gotten a good night's sleep. As he made his way into the break room, everyone could tell that he was dog tired.

"Hey chief, you grab coffee with Joyce Byers last night?" One of his deputies asked, joking around.

"I wish." Hopper sighed as he grabbed a cup of coffee and went straight to his office. He sat down and actually managed to get a few minutes sleep. He was eventually awaken by Flo yelling for him.

"Jim!" She exclaimed. "You got a call, sounds long distance!" Hopper sighed as he picked up the phone.

"This is Chief Jim Hopper, Hawkins police." He said.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Josiah B. Brown." The man said in an English accent. "I'm calling from Pennhurst State School and Hospital."

"Where is that, exactly?"

"Spring City, Pennsylvania." That got Hopper's attention.

"Pennsylvania?" He exclaimed. "Why are you calling the Hawkins, Indiana police department?"

"I'm calling because I may have information for you." Dr. Josiah replied.

"OK...what do you got for me?"

"Have you had any missing children in Hawkins recently?" Now the Chief was really focused on this call.

"Um yeah, Michael Wheeler, goes by Mike. Went missing about a few months ago." He stated.

"Could you describe him for me?" The doctor asked.

"Um, black hair, brown eyes, kind of has a frog face, freckles..." the Chief replied. Dr. Josiah was stunned. The more the chief talked about Michael, the more he sounded like Paladin.

"Chief Hopper, I think that your missing boy might be a patient of mine." Josiah said.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, we know him as Paladin, but he fits the description of your Michael Wheeler." Something didn't sound right to Jim though.

"Um, where did you say you worked?" He asked.

"Pennhurst State School and Hospital In Spring City, Pennsylvania." Dr. Brown replied.

"What kind of place is that?" Jim asked.

"Technically, it's a home for the mentally retarded, but it's basically an mental institution." Brown answered.

"Why is he there,exactly?" The Chief inquired as the doctor sighed.

"Paladin, or Michael, is suffering from Amnesia."

"Amnesia?"

"The boy was found in Pittsburg. He had no knowledge of who he was or where he came from. The local authorities sent him here for treatment." Josiah explained. Hopper groaned. Everyone was going to be devastated if Mike really did have amnesia. Especially Eleven. What if Mike didn't recognize her? The girl would just die, Hopper knew it.

"Is it possible for you to come here to make a positive identification?" Dr. Josiah inquired.

"Yeah, I can figure something out." Chief Hopper replied as he took down the address that Dr. Brown gave him. After hanging up, Jim grabbed his coat and hat and headed out.

"Where are you off to?" Flo asked.

"Following a lead." Hopper replied.

* * *

Chief Hopper pulled up to the Hawkins Public Library and walked in. He had not been there since he had done research on Hawkins National Laboratory.

"Well well, back again Chief?" The Liberian asked. She and Jim had hooked up and he had never called her back.

"Yeah, do you have anything in Pennhurst?" He asked. She took him to the news paper section.

"We have some articles and there's a video too." She offered. "Some guy did a report on the place back in '68, Bill...Baldini, I think his name was. I haven't watched it, but it's supposed to be pretty brutal." Hopper began looking through the articles which detailed lawsuits against Pennhurst.

_No psychologists are on duty at Pennhurst at night or over the weekend. Thus, if a resident has an emotional crisis, he or she may go without treatment until the next morning or until the weekend is over._

_At Pennhurst, restraints are used as control measures in lieu of adequate staffing. Restraints can be either physical or chemical. The physical restraints range from placing the individual into a seclusion room to binding the person's hands or ankles with muffs or poseys, and binding the individual to a bed or a chair. Chemical restraints are usually psychotropic (i. e., tranquilizing) drugs._

_The physical environment at Pennhurst is hazardous to the residents, both physically and psychologically. There is often excrement and urine on ward floors and the living areas do not meet minimal professional standards for cleanliness. Outbreaks of infectious diseases are common._

Hopper was turning sick at the thought of any child, especially Wheeler, having to live through something like that. Against his better judgement, he pulled out the video documentary. It was entitled: _Suffer The Little Children_. He found a television and a vcr player and sat down to watch.

 _"These are some of the sights and sounds of Pennhurst: the state institution for the mentally retarded."_ Baldini said as he stood in the courtyard _. "It's located in Spring City. In 1908, when the institution first opened, the man in charge bitterly complained that the conditions were already overcrowded. He transported many of those patients to Q1: a classroom building...many of them are still there."_ The Chief could only watch a half hour of the documentary before he ran to the toilet to throw up. Jim Hopper thought that he had seen it all after being in a hellhole like Vietnam and watching his beautiful daughter die; those horrors had not prepared him for the horrible sights that Baldini's cameras had captured. Once he had recovered, he went back to the station and announced that he was taking a few days off. He was going to Pennhurst to get Mike back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHIEF HOPPER IS ON A MISSION. WILL HE BE ABLE TO FREE MIKE FROM PENNHURST OR WILL HE NEED HELP? REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.


	15. The Chief & The Superintendent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim Hopper faces off against Alvin Weitz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF ABUSE. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania._

A few days after Dr. Josiah called the Hawkins police, Paladin was on cleaning duty with Jacob. The patients were made to clean the halls and rooms of Q1 and it was obvious to anyone who went in that they needed a through cleaning desperately. The entire building reeked of urine and feces. The patients were given some cleaning supplies to try and fight the stench, but they barely made a dent.

"Jacob hates cleaning duty." Jacob stared as he and Paladin scrubbed the hallway floors with toothbrushes.

"Who doesn't?" Paladin asked.

"When do you think that the Eleven girl is coming for you?" Jacob inquired. "She is coming...isn't she?" Paladin had told his friends about Eleven and somehow the idea of this brave girl coming to free her true love gave these kids hope that maybe someone would come and rescue them too.

"Of course she is." Paladin replied, trying to keep hopeful. "I just wish I could remember more about her. It's just feelings mainly...I can see her...she is so pretty."

"Pretty." Jacob said dreamily, both boys were lost in thought until an orderly named Montgomery came by and burned both boys with his cigarette.

"Get back to work, you sons of bitches!" He shouted as they groaned in pain.

"Jacob wishes Eleven would come today!" The boy shot back as Montgomery burned him again with the cigarette and spat in his face.

"You been spreading lies Paladin?" Montgomery asked as he grabbed the other boy. "Let's see what Superintendent Weitz has to say about this." The orderly dragged Paladin to Weitz office where Alvin Weitz was talking with orderly Schnapp.

"Why are you interrupting our conversation, Montgomery?" Weitz inquired.

"It's Paladin, he's been spreading more lies about his precious Eleven." Montgomery replied. Weitz sighed as he walked over and struck Paladin across the face.

"What are we going to do with you?" He asked. "You know what this Eleven is? It is a disease, a disease that is now spreading to other patients and it needs to be eradicated."

"What do we do Mr. Weitz?" Schnapp asked.

"Well orderly Schnapp, there have been advances made in...electro shock therapy." Weitz replied.

"No!" Paladin exclaimed in horror. "You can't!"

"Do not tell me what I can and cannot do boy." Weitz shot back. "I guess we can start with some Phenobarbital, but if that does not stop this Eleven talk...our next option will be...shock therapy. Take him to Dr. Dyer. Give the boy as much Phenobarbital as you can without causing permanent damage." As Schnapp and Montgomery dragged the boy away, Sink ran into the office.

"Um, Mr. Weitz...we have a situation at the gate." He reported.

"What kind of situation?" Weitz asked.

"There's a policeman here from Indiana. His name is Hopper. Jim Hopper." Sink replied. The idea of cops at Pennhurst terrified Weitz to no end.

"What is his business here?" Weitz inquired nervously.

"He wouldn't say, he wants to speak to whoever is in charge."

"Then let's not keep him waiting."

* * *

Chief Jim Hopper waited at the gates to be let in. He felt as though these people were stalling for time. After waiting for about 15 minutes he was finally let in. Once he parked his cruiser, he was lead to Hershey Hall. As he walked inside, he was greeted by a man in a polished suit who looked like a stereotypical slimy politician.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Hopper." He said.

"Chief Hopper." Jim corrected.

"My mistake." The man said as he offered his hand. "Alvin Weitz, Superintendent of Pennhurst State School and Hospital."

"Chief Jim Hopper, Hawkins P.D."

"Wonderful, would you accompany me to my office?" Hopper and Weitz went into his office and sat down. "So, what brings you here all the way from Indiana?"

"Well, I received a call from a Dr. Brown..."

"Ah Josiah, he's very young but very dedicated."

"He told me that one of his patients may be a missing kid from my town."

"Did he now?"

"Yeah, I was hoping I could have a word with him, confirm the theory, you know?" Hopper asked.

"Of course, the only problem is that Dr. Brown is out today." Weitz replied.

"He's out?"

"Yes sir, his wife came down with measles and he won't leave her side, like I said, he's very dedicated." This of course was a lie. De. Josiah's wife was perfectly healthy. Hopper was getting suspicious, but pressed on.

"Well, I was hoping I could talk to this Paladin, Dr. Brown said that he could be my missing kid: Mike Wheeler." the chief handed the superintendent the Wheeler file with a picture of Mike. Inside, Weitz panicked. It was Paladin! His greatest fear had been realized.

"I see, well I really wish I could introduce you, but I cannot." He said after a minute.

"Why not?" Hopper inquired.

"He is not here." Weitz lied. "His family, after seeing his story in the paper, came to claim him. They provided sufficient evidence proving that they knew him and he was discharged yesterday afternoon and released into the custody of his parents."

"He was claimed?" Hopper asked, feeling in his gut that something was wrong.

"Yes sir, he was released around 3...if I remember correctly."

"Who were his parents?"

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say, confidentiality laws and all that..." Weitz replied.

"Can you tell me his name?" Hopper pressed.

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to release any information about it." Weitz repeated. Defeated, Hopper tried a new plan.

"Well, since I'm here...how bout you show me around? I've heard a lot of good things about the work you do here. He said, trying to suck up.

"Why of course, I'd love to give you a grand tour of our facilities." Weitz said cheerfully. "Let me see your search warrant and we'll get started." This caught Hopper off guard.

"Excuse me?" He asked in disbelief.

"Your search warrant...or court order, giving you legal basis to enter our facilities on official business." Weitz explained. "You do have one, don't you?" Hopper finally saw the game that this smarmy bastard was playing.

"No."

"Ooh, tough luck Chief...I guess I won't be giving you that tour then."

"You're saying that I can't go into the other buildings just to see the place?"

"No, I'd love to let you in, it's the law that says you can't come in without legal authorization." Hopper chuckled as he tried to control himself.

"You know something Mr. Weitz, I think you're hiding something." The Chief said. "I think that whole story about Paladin being claimed is horse shit. I think that Paladin is Mike Wheeler and so do you. The only question is: why don't you want him found?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Alvin said with a stern look.

"The way I figure it, is that Mike saw something that you didn't want him to and now your worried that if he ever gets out...he'll talk. You can't have that happen, can you? This place will be closed, your career will be over and if you've committed any crimes, you can kiss your freedom goodbye." For a second Weitz looked furious, but then planted a smile on his face.

"Well Chief, I'd love to listen to more of these wild accusations, but like I said before: either you show me the search warrant or I show you the door." He stated. Hopper stood up and grabbed his hat.

"I'll be back and next time, I'll be taking Mike with me, so you better not touch him." He said as he stormed out. Once Hopper had gone, Weitz spat in his trash bin.

"Ass eating shit." He muttered. "Speak to me like that again and I'll have your fucking head!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL. WILL HOPPER RETURN TO SAVE MIKE OR WILL WEITZ MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF MIKE TO SAVE? REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.


	16. Weitz Lays Down His Law

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Superintendent Weitz seeks to intimidate a suspected fifth column within Pennhurst.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania_

Paladin was strapped down on a bed as Dr. Dyer injected him with Phenobarbital.

"Get off me!" He shouted as the doctor jammed the syringe into his arm. After a few minutes, Paladin began to feel pain rushing through his body, just pure pain. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think...at least about anything but the pain. As he struggled to take his mind off of the agony he felt, he looked out the window and saw a uniformed officer leaving the premises. As Paladin got a good look at the man's face, he recognized him. The man's name escaped the boy, but Paladin knew him from somewhere.

"Wait...wait!" Paladin croaked out, but the man kept walking. "Please come back...please..." The boy wept bitterly as the officer made his way through the gates of Pennhurst.

* * *

After an hour and a half of horrible pain, the phenobarbital finally wore off. Once the pain had subsided, Dr. Dyer freed Paladin from his bonds. Dazed and confused, he eventually made his way to Dr. Josiah's office and told the physiatrist what had happened.

"Dr. Dyer administered Phenobarbital to you?" He asked in shock. "For what reason?"

"I was...I was talking about Eleven." Paladin admitted. "I got Jacob talking about her too."

"Still, that is no excuse for such a method." Dr. Josiah insisted. "He and I will have words."

"There was something else...I saw someone." Paladin said.

"Did you have a memory?"

"No, I literally saw someone leaving Pennhurst. It was a man. I could tell, it was someone I knew. He was a policeman. I could tell by his uniform. "

"You recognized this man?" Josiah asked.

"Yes, I knew him from somewhere...did he come looking for me?" Paladin asked in turn.

"Don't you think that if he had, you and I would have been sent for at once?" Dr. Brown pointed out.

"I...I..." Paladin stuttered, clearly worn down from his most recent ordeal.

"You should go lie down and get some rest." Brown suggested as Paladin did what he said. Dr. Josiah sat back in his chair and pondered. Jim Hopper had not given an exact date for his arrival at Pennhurst, but he did not seem to be the kind of man who would stand idle in the face of such terror. Had Chief Hopper actually come only to be turned away? Could Weitz actually do such a thing? Would he? As Josiah was pondering these things, an announcement came over the intercom.

"Attention!" The announcer exclaimed. "All patients and staff are required to report to the Assembly building immediately! Attendance is mandatory!"

* * *

Every able bodied person at Pennhurst, patient and staff member alike, went to the assembly building and gathered in the main hall. Superintendent Alvin Weitz was on the podium and he was not happy. Paladin and his friends stood in their places along with the other patients.

"Good afternoon my children." He said into the microphone.

"Good afternoon Mr. Weitz." They all said. He leaned in close with his angry eyes.

"Rumors...it has come to my attention that there have been rumors spread by certain people, and while I may have my suspicions..." Weitz said as he shot a glance at Paladin and Dr. Josiah. "I don't know for sure."

"Something is bugging him worse than usual." Laura whispered.

"A policeman from Indiana arrived here earlier today, unannounced and unexpected." Superintendent Weitz continued. "He wanted to get inside, luckily I was able to turn him away, but he will come back. There are people out there who want this institution closed and these rumors are the way to do it. If these...Hellish fantasies are believed, the state will stop sending us money, the state will stop sending us supplies, all of the doctors and orderlies will be laid off and you will have nowhere to go but back into the gutter from whence you came!"

"Jacob's scared!" Jacob whispered as Laura held his hand.

"Whatever happens within the confines of Pennhurst is to remain within the confines of Pennhurst, that is a sacred rule." Alvin stated. "More sacred than any rule you will EVER LEARN! If I find anyone spreading these evil lies, I assure you that by God... _by God_...they will be punished. Severely, mercilessly, punished. Do you understand?"

"Yes Mr. Weitz." The crowd said.

"Dismissed." Weitz said as everyone was herded out.

* * *

After the assembly, Dr. Josiah made his way over to the administrative building to have a talk with Superintendent Weitz.

"Mr. Weitz." Josiah said as he entered the office.

"Yes Brown, What is it?" Weitz asked.

"I need to speak with you...there are practices in this institution that I do not agree with."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I believe that some of the methods used by the doctors and orderlies are inhumane." Dr. Josiah insisted as Weitz leaned back in his seat.

"Let us pretend for a moment that I give a damn about what you think." Weitz said. "Not that I ever would, but let's just pretend. What do you think is so inhumane about what we do here?"

"I believe that Dr. Dyer's extended use of Phenobarbital is inhumane."

"In What way?"

"He claims to use it as punishment for patients who behave badly or need to be restrained." Dr. Josiah explained. "He injects a large dose into the patient which cause excruciating pain for over an hour. It doesn't have any affect on their behavior and if anything seems to cause to disconnect further from the world around them."

"It is necessary to find a working method to control the troublemakers." Alvin argued.

"The same method has been tried on forty five patients with the same results every time: pain and suffering." Josiah argued. "Is it not obvious that the method does not work?"

"Dr. Dyer can use any method he deems necessary to control those animals."

"They are not animals, they are human beings!"

"They are not human beings, they are diseased little maggots that frankly should have been drowned at birth, would have saved us a lot of trouble." Dr. Josiah was floored as he collected himself and stared Weitz down.

"There is an overwhelming sickness that prevails at Pennhurst!" He shouted. "What happens here is wrong! The cruelty and humiliation is completely unnecessary!"

"YOU ARE DISMISSED." Weitz shouted as Dr. Josiah stormed out of his office. As he made his way back to his office, he felt frightened but what he was about to do, but he knew that he had no choice. He could not stand by while children suffered. He picked up the phone and dialed the operator.

"I need the number for the Spring City Police Department." He said.


	17. The Secret Weapon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chief Hopper calls for backup.

_Hawkins, Indiana_

Joyce Byers was sitting at the kitchen table when the phone rang. She had been thinking about Chief Jim Hopper and how much she missed him. He was a sensitive subject. Joyce was dating Bob Newby and she loved the normalcy and innocence that he offered to her, but she would have been a liar if she said that she did not have feelings for Hopper. She always had, but she had never been allowed to express them. First, she had been trapped by Lonnie sticking two buns in her oven, then Jim had moved on and found himself a wife and a daughter. Finally, he had been so absorbed in grief and self pity that she was afraid to even broach the subject. She did not know which outcome she feared more: Hopper refusing her advances or accepting them. She snapped herself out of her thoughts and answered the telephone.

"Hello?" She said.

"Joyce?" Jim said as he breathed heavily into the phone.

"Hopper?" She asked in surprise. "Where have you been? I stopped by the station and Flo said that you were out of state on police business."

"I am...look Joyce, I need you to do me a huge favor and I mean huge."

"What is it?"

"I found Wheeler." Hopper admitted as Joyce's eyes went wide.

"You found Mike?" She exclaimed. "Is he OK?"

"It is really complicated Joyce." The Chief replied. "He's in some place called Pennhurst. It's in Spring City, Pennsylvania...it's a mental institution."

"Why is Mike in a mental institution?" Joyce wondered.

"Sometime after he left Hawkins, Wheeler got a bad case of amnesia. He can't remember a thing."

"How do you know?"

"A doctor on the inside tracked me down." Hopper explained. "He told me what's been going on in that Hellhole."

"Is it bad?" Joyce asked in fear.

"If just 1% of what I've seen and heard about that place is true, it needs to be burned to the fucking ground." Hopper stated.

"So what do you want me to do?" Joyce asked as Jim took a deep breath.

"I need you to bring Eleven to Spring City." He replied. Joyce was confused, all of the boys had told her that the girl had died killing The Demogorgon.

"But...she's dead Hop..." Joyce stuttered.

"No Joyce, she isn't." Chief Hopper confessed. "I've been hiding her. That's why I moved."

"You've been hiding her!" Joyce exclaimed.

"I had to, the lab is still here." Hopper pointed out. "I don't believe that they've lost interest in her." As Hopper explained how the girl had ended up in his care, Joyce was getting angry.

"You've had her this whole time?" Joyce asked in disbelief. "Mike wouldn't have run off if he'd known she was here!"

"Yeah, do you think I haven't realized that?!" Jim shot back. He knew as soon as the Wheeler boy had run off, he had fucked up. "Believe me, anything you're thinking about me, I'm thinking even worse. Right now, we just need to get him out of Pennhurst. So, you can yell at me later as much as you want, once we've got Wheeler home."

"What will she do when she pieces together how this happened?" She inquired. The chief knew who Joyce was talking about.

"Trust me, I'm worried about that too." He admitted. Eleven had always argued about wanting to see Mike. When she found out that Hopper was to blame for his mental collapse, her telekinetic fury would know no bounds. However. Hopper was determined to get Wheeler out of there and hopefully bring an end to the Weitz regime.

"All right, I'll do it." Joyce agreed.

"Thank you so much Joyce." Hopper replied as he told her how to get to the cabin and the address of the hotel he was holed up in. Once Joyce hung up, she went into her son Jonathan's bedroom.

"Jonathan!" Joyce said as she opened the door.

"Yeah mom." Jonathan replied.

"I need you to watch your brother." She said. "Something's happened and I need to go out of town."

"For what?" He asked.

"I can't tell you right now, OK?"

"When will you be back?"

"That is a really good question, honey." Joyce said as she kissed his forehead.

"Just watch your brother and could you swing by Melvald's and tell them that I'm sick. I will be back as soon as I can." She left the room, stormed out of the house and got in her car.

* * *

Meanwhile, Eleven was back at Hopper's Cabin. He had told Her that he was going out of town and would be back as soon as he could. It had been a whole day and he still hadn't come back. There was plenty to eat and drink, but Eleven was still worried for him. As she was lying on her bed, she heard a knock at the door. It was not the secret knock that Hopper had taught her so she stayed as quiet as she could.

"Eleven!" The girl recognized that voice, it belonged to Mrs. Byers, the kind lady who had calmed her in the bath. "It's Mrs. Byers, please open up. I know where Mike is!" At the sound of his name, Eleven unlocked all the locks and flung the door open. As Joyce ran in, she embraced the brace girl who had found her son.

"Oh sweetheart, I'm so glad you're all right." She said as she embraced Eleven.

"Me too." The girl replied. "Where's Mike."

"Hopper wants me to take you to where he is." Joyce said. "Does he have any maps around Here?" Eleven showed Joyce where Hopper kept his maps and found a large one of the United States. She was able to make a route to Spring City, Pennsylvania.

"I need you to pack some clothes OK, it's gonna be a long drive." Joyce said as Eleven quickly stuffed some clothes in a bag. Once bags had been packed, Joyce and Eleven got in her car and began the over eleven hour drive to Spring City.


	18. The Party On The Move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Party embarks on a perilous quest to rescue their dungeon master.

_Hawkins, Indiana._

While Joyce Byers had been talking to Chief Jim Hopper on the phone, they were both unaware that Will "The Wise" Byers had been eavesdropping. He had overheard parts of their conversation and while he didn't understand all of it, he heard enough to know that Mike was in trouble. He snuck back to his room and pulled out his super-com.

"Dustin...Dustin, are you there, over?" Will spoke into the super-com.

"I'm here, over." Dustin replied.

"Call Lucas and Max and come over ASAP, over and out."

* * *

Immediately after Joyce had bid goodbye to Jonathan and sped off to pick up Eleven, Dustin the ranger, Lucas the ranger, and Max the zoomer arrived to answer the call of their cleric. The party snuck past Jonathan who was busying making up an excuse to Bob Newby who had called to see if Joyce wanted to see a film with him that night. They tiptoed into Will's room as Lucas quietly closed the door.

"All right, we're all here." Max said. "What's going on?"

"Chief Hopper called my mom...he found Mike." Will stated as the entire party dropped their jaws.

"Is he alive?" Dustin asked nervously. Will nodded.

"Yeah, he's in some place called Pennhurst." He explained.

"Mike's at Pennhurst!" Lucas exclaimed in fear. His father had once worked as an intern at the local News station and he had once told Lucas about the horrors that Bill Baldini had exposed to the world. He had left out the horrifying details, but Lucas had picked up enough to know that it was a bad place.

"What's Pennhurst?" Max inquired.

"It's a nut farm." Lucas answered.

"What the Hell is Mike doing there?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know." Will replied. "I couldn't hear what Hopper was saying. All I know is that Mike is trapped in this horrible place and we need to go save him."

"Why do we have to go, isn't Chief Hopper investigating it?" Max pointed out.

"It's his fault that this happened in the first place!" Will exclaimed.

"How is it Hopper's fault?" Lucas asked.

"Who knew that you guys were at the school the night Eleven died?" Will asked. He had not heard the part about Eleven being alive, he had been too sick with concern about Mike.

"Your mom and...the Chief!" Lucas realized.

"I told you guys, Lando." Dustin said.

"Hold on, are you saying that Hopper sold you out?" Max asked. Once Mad Max had become a full party member, Lucas told her what had happened the previous year with Eleven and the Demogorgon. At first, Max believed that the boys were screwing with her. After a while though, when they didn't give up and Mike left Hawkins, Max accepted that they were telling the truth.

"Why would the chief betray us?" Lucas asked.

"To get me." Will concluded. "I've thought about it and it's the only explanation. Hopper made a deal with the bad men: if they let him and mom go into the Upside Down to find me, he would tell them where Eleven was."

"That Son of a bitch." Dustin scowled. "I mean, I'm glad that they got you back but, Eleven is dead and Mike is trapped in a loony bin." As the kids were talking, there was a knock on Will's door.

"Hey Will." Jonathan said.

"Yeah." Will replied.

"Your teacher's here to see you." Will was shocked as the door opened to reveal Mr. Scott Clarke himself.

"Mr. Clarke!" Will said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello Will, I've thought a lot about...what you said...I've gone back through everything in my head, the events of last year and they don't make sense...unless I compare them with your story." Dustin and Lucas glared at Will.

"You told Mr. Clarke!" Lucas exclaimed.

"I had to, he knew something was wrong and I couldn't lie to him." Will responded.

"Do you realize what you've done?" Dustin asked. "You told a non party member the truth, you broke the rule of law!"

"I get it, OK!" Will shouted. "I'm sorry. I needed to talk to someone who wasn't tired of hearing me mope about Mike." Dustin, Lucas, and Max looked at each other. They knew that they could be insensitive to Will's pain at times.

"We'll talk about this later." Lucas promised. "Right now, we need to get to Pennhurst to save Mike."

"Mike is in Pennhurst?" Mr. Clarke said in shock.

"You know about it?" Max asked.

"There was a documentary on it in '68." Clarke replied. "It is Hell on Earth."

"That's why we need to get to Spring City and bust him out!" Will insisted.

"It's over 11 hours to get there and none of you are old enough to drive." Scott pointed out as his students looked at him. Suddenly, he caught on.

"No, no way." Mr. Clarke said. "I am not taking you to Pennsylvania."

"Please Mr. Clarke, Mike is in danger." Lucas pleaded. Mr. Clarke thought about for a few minutes and relented.

"All right, I'm only doing this because you guys are my favorite students." He said as the party piled into his car. As they left, Will left a note for Jonathan explaining where they were going. As Scott Clarke and the party sped towards Pennsylvania, they had no idea of the danger that awaited them.


	19. Joyce & Eleven On The Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joyce and all go on a road trip to rescue Mike.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania._

As Mr. Clarke and the party were preparing for their own long journey, Joyce and Eleven had already began theirs. Throughout the long drive, Joyce and Eleven caught up on what had happened. Eleven told Joyce about escaping from the Upside Down and how Hopper had hidden her in his cabin. Joyce was still annoyed with Jim, but she saw his point of view.

"Is Will Ok?" Eleven asked.

"He's doing all right, he's been going to the arcade with Dustin and Lucas." Joyce replied.

"Arcade?"

"It's a place where kids play games." Eleven nodded as she decided to ask Joyce to tell her what Hopper wouldn't.

"Why isn't Mike...at home?" She inquired. Joyce wasn't quite sure how to answer her.

"Um...he was very sad...after what happened." Joyce said. "He had to leave Hawkins because...he missed you so much."

"I should have talked back." Eleven said quietly. "He called me with the supercom. I didn't talk back. Hopper said I was dangerous." What Hopper had actually said was that it was dangerous for her to see Mike until the lab was closed, but for Eleven, it was practically the same thing.

"I'm sure that he wasn't calling you dangerous honey, he just doesn't want the bad men to hurt you again." Joyce explained. The girl nodded as the couple made their way through Ohio. Finally, after midnight, they made their way into Pennsylvania. As they passed through the city of Pittsburg, Joyce saw a Denny's in their path.

"Hey honey, I see a Denny's up ahead." She reported. "You wanna get something to eat? I bet they have waffles, their waffles are so much better than Eggos." Eleven looked at the restaurant and shook her head.

"No time...I need to get to Mike." Eleven insisted.

"All right." Joyce relented, knowing that she would have to make Eleven eat something eventually.

"Can we stop on the way back?" She asked as Joyce ruffled her hair.

"Of course sweetheart." She said as they sped deeper into Pennsylvania.

* * *

As they continued their long drive, Eleven was getting impatient. She and Joyce were traveling on a single lane highway and it was getting into a rush hour. As they drove, there was one car ahead of them that was going way too slow for the women's taste. Joyce was hoping that the traffic would move quicker as Eleven was getting tired of this guy ahead of them.

"Go faster." Eleven said. She didn't want to be mean to Joyce, but she needed to see Mike.

"I can't sweetie, this idiot in front of me won't go faster." She said as she laid on the horn. In response, the driver ahead rolled down his window and gave Joyce Byers the finger.

"That son of a..." Joyce started to say before she remembered that she was in the presence of a child. "He flipped me off!" Eleven said nothing as she closed her eyes and focused on the car ahead. As he nose bled, the car sped up and attracted the attention of a nearby highway patrol officer. The officer chased him down and Eleven stopped the vehicle just in time for the officer to give him a ticket for speeding. As the car was pulling to the side, Joyce sped up.

"In the future, please don't do that." Joyce said as Eleven wiped away her nose blood.

"He was being a mouth breather." Eleven replied.

"You still can't use your powers on someone just because they're being a mouth breather." Joyce explained.

"Why can't we drive like Bo and Luke?" Eleven asked.

"Who are...?" Joyce started to ask before she realized who El was talking about. "Hop lets you watch the dukes of Hazzard?"

"He likes it." She replied. Joyce sighed as she kept driving.

* * *

Eventually, the two women made their way into Spring City. Joyce made her way to the address that Hopper had given her. They pulled into a motel and saw Hopper's police vehicle in the parking lot.

"All right, Hop's in room 8." Joyce replied as she and Eleven knocked on the door. After a minute, Chief Jim Hopper opened up the door.

"Hey kid." He said as he gave Eleven a huge hug. He then turned to Joyce who gave him a hug as well.

"Thank you Joyce." Jim said.

"It's no problem." She replied as Hopper closed the door.

"Where's Mike?" Eleven asked immediately. The chief heaved a sigh.

"He's in a place called Pennhurst." He replied. "It's a hospital for kids with sick brains."

"Is Mike's brain sick?"

"Sort of...He has amnesia."

"Like on TV?" Eleven asked. She had watched enough soap operas to know what amnesia was.

"Yeah...He doesn't remember anything." Jim explained.

"Mike wouldn't forget me." Eleven insisted, trying to cope with the thought of Mike forgetting everything. "He didn't forget me." Chief Hopper was about to say something, but Joyce squeezed his hand, not wanting to hurt Eleven any more.

"Where is Pennhurst anyway?" She asked.

"It's about 25 miles outside of Spring City." He answered. "It's about the size of a small college campus."

"Have you tried getting Mike out?"

"I went there, the guy who runs the place: Alvin Weitz, wouldn't let me in. He said that the kid was claimed, but I think he's bullshitting me. The way I figure it is that Wheeler saw him for the abusive psycho that he is. If he ever got out and started telling people, Weitz would lose everything."

"So how do we get in there?" Joyce inquired.

"There's someone on the inside who wants to help Wheeler." Chief Hopper explained. "He's a psychiatrist named Josiah Brown. He wants to meet up tomorrow. Josiah thinks that we have a window of opportunity."

"I have to see Mike." Eleven interjected. "He needs me."


	20. The Plan Is Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joyce and Hopper come up with a plan to free Paladin from Pennhurst, with the help of an unlikely volunteer.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania._

The next morning, the trio woke up and had breakfast at a local diner. After they ate and relaxed for a couple of hours, there was a knock at the door. Chief Hopper opened it and Dr. Josiah B. Brown walked in. Once the door was closed, he shook Joyce's hand.

"Hello." He said. "You must be Mrs. Byers. Chief Hopper said you would be coming."

"It's nice to meet you." She replied. Dr. Josiah's eyes landed on the strange girl with the curly hair and the overalls.

"And who is this pretty young lady?" He asked.

"This is the powerful friend I was telling you about." Hopper explained.

"But how can a child possibly..." Josiah started to say until he thought of something. "Excuse me, does the name Eleven mean anything to you?" Eleven rolled up her wrist to reveal her 011 tattoo. The doctor was floored. The idea that Paladin had hung onto throughout his pain at Pennhurst was a flesh and blood creature.

"You are real?" He asked as the girl nodded.

"How do you know about her?" Jim asked.

"From Paladin, or Michael." Brown explained. "He has recovered only a few memories, but the ones he can remember clearly revolve around a girl named Eleven."

"Mike remembers me." She said with a small smile. She knew that Mike would never forget her. She knew...that he loved her. She had heard people say it on the soap operas and she knew that was how Mike felt about her, because he had kissed her.

"So, how do we get Mike out of Pennhurst?" Joyce asked. "From what Hopper told me about your boss, he's an awful son of a bitch."

"We have a window of opportunity." Dr. Brown said. "It's small, but we could make it work."

"What is it exactly?" Hopper inquired.

"In 3 days time, we will be having the annual cotillion at Pennhurst." Josiah explained. "It's supposed to resemble a school dance."

"Like snow ball?" Eleven asked, remembering how Mike had promised to take her.

"Possibly. For 4 hours, all of the patients, staff, and Weitz himself will be in the gymnasium. Everyone in one place at one time, if we can sneak Michael out, we could roam freely around the campus and get him out before Weitz knew what was going on."

"Could you sneak him out?" The chief asked as the doctor shook his head.

"I would be noticed." He replied. "Ever since your visit, Alvin has been monitoring the staff more than ever. He knows that someone is talking and he already suspects me. I can't let him know that I am working against him."

"We need to help Mike." Joyce insisted. "He has a family."

"I have family too." Dr. Josiah shot back. "People I need to protect."

"Then how do we sneak Wheeler out?" Jim asked in frustration.

"If we could sneak someone in..." Josiah thought out loud. "They could get Michael out and we would be in the clear. It can't be the Chief, Weitz knows him."

"What if I..." Joyce started to say before she was cut off by two unimaginable words.

"I'll go." The three adults turned to look at a determined Eleven staring back at them.

"Absolutely not!" Hopper exclaimed.

"Eleven, you can't." Dr. Brown argued. " You have no idea what it is like inside Pennhurst." That did not deter her at all.

"I...will...go..." Eleven repeated, her brown eyes piercing Into their souls.

"You can't." Jim insisted.

"You can't stop me...I am going...to get Mike." She gritted. "He is mine."

"I don't like it." Dr. Josiah replied. "But it is the best option, and maybe our only one."

"She can do it Hop." Joyce assured him as she put her arm on his shoulder.

"Are you going to be there?" Chief Hopper asked.

"I will do what I can." The doctor promised. Hopper sighed as he consented to this suicide mission.

"All right." He groaned. "How do we make this work?"

"Mrs. Byers, I need you to pose as Eleven's mother." Dr. Josiah said. "You are going to call Pennhurst and have her committed." Joyce nodded as he gave her the number for the institution. She dialed as she waited for someone to pick up.

"Pennhurst State School and Hospital. Leading the way in mental health care, how may I help you?" A woman asked.

"Yes, I'd like to speak to Superintendent Weitz please." Joyce said.

"One moment." She said as Joyce was transferred to The Superintendent's office.

"This is Superintendent Alvin Weitz, how may I help you?" He asked in his trademark slimy voice.

"Yes, my name is Joyce Byers and your institution was recommended by my daughter's pediatrician." She replied.

"Well, why don't you tell me about your daughter?" Weitz asked.

"My daughter...Eleanor...has a lot of developmental disabilities." Joyce lied. "She can barely talk, she has immaturity issues, it's just a long list."

"Well, here at Pennhurst, we have the most cutting edge technology in the country. Your daughter will enjoy our first rate life skills program, our delicious food, and of course, our compassionate staff." Weitz said.

"He's lying through his teeth." Josiah whispered to the Chief.

"Yes Mrs. Byers, here at Pennhurst, young Eleanor will be treated like gold." Weitz finished, saving the biggest lie for last. Joyce arranged to bring "Eleanor" to the institution, thanked Weitz for his time, and hung up.

"All right, I can get transcripts made to appear legit." Dr. Brown stated. "Eleven, get some rest and prepare yourself. The next few days are not going to be pleasant." Josiah bid everyone farewell and he left. After he was gone, Joyce hugged Eleven tightly.

"You are such a brave girl." She whispered as Eleven hugged her back.

"Thank you." She replied. Eleven was scared, but Mike was her life and it was time to take her life back.


	21. Welcome To Pennhurst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleven goes undercover inside Pennhurst.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania_

The next day, everyone woke up bright and early. After breakfast, Joyce and Hopper gave Eleven plenty of hugs and told her that she was brave and that they loved her. Finally, at around 10:30, Joyce drove Eleven to Pennhurst. As she pulled up to the gates, there was a toll man watching.

"State your business." He said.

"Joyce Byers, here to see superintendent Weitz?" She stated.

"Go ahead." He said as she drove deeper into Pennhurst. It looked like a small college campus, giving no clue to the horrors that went on inside the buildings. Once they arrived at the administration building, Joyce and Eleven walked in and sure enough, Alvin Weitz was there waiting for them.

"Ah, hello Mrs. Byers." He said as he shook Joyce's hand. "And this must be little Eleanor." Eleven said nothing as Weitz eyed her greedily.

"Hello Mr. Weitz, I really hope that I'm making the right decision." Joyce said, even though she knew she wasn't.

"I assure you, there is nothing to worry about." Alvin assured the single mother. "Here at Pennhurst, Eleanor will learn the necessary skills to hopefully rejoin society."

"That's what I'm hoping for." Joyce lied.

"I'll give you a minute to say your goodbyes." Weitz said as Joyce turned to Eleven.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She whispered as the girl nodded.

"Mike needs me." She insisted. "I need him." Joyce nodded as she gave Eleven another hug. She then signed the paperwork and slowly walked out, fearing that she might not see Eleven again.

"First things first." Weitz said. "Sink!" The orderly came in as instructed.

"Yes Mr. Weitz." He replied.

"Search her." Sink proceeded to check Eleven's pockets and found a figurine. It was a mage from Dungeons and Dragons. Hopper had bought it for her in an attempt to make Mike remember quicker.

"What is this?" Sink asked as he looked at the figurine.

"It's a DND toy, just like Paladin's." Sink remarked as Weitz's eyes turned cold. Eleven wondered if Mike was their Paladin.

"Take her to Hershey Hall, see that she is put with the other new arrivals." Weitz gritted.

"We have five new ones today." Sink reported. "She makes six." As Eleven was being led out, Alvin stopped them.

"I just had an idea." He smiled evilly. "Have Paladin help McLaughlin and Schnapp with the cleaning, it will be a good learning experience for the boy."

"Yes sir." Sink replied as he drug the girl out of the administration building.

* * *

Later that day, Paladin was led into the cleaning room by Schnapp where orderly McLaughlin and the new arrivals were waiting. As he walked in, his eyes settled on one of the girls. She had short brown curly hair and deep brown eyes that seemed to bear into his soul. He was brought back to reality with a cuff to the head; courtesy of McLaughlin.

"Look at you." He snarled. "Filthy, the lot of you. Do you think that this is a pigsty? If that's the case, you should know that Superintendent Weitz likes his piggies clean." Paladin continued to look at the girl who was now staring at him. She wanted to say something, but she didn't speak.

"Oink, oink." Schnapp teased.

"Superintendent Weitz is coming in." McLaughlin said. "When he talks, you listen. If you have any questions, keep them to yourselves." As Alvin walked in, he stared at all of the kids like they were pieces of meat on a slab.

"Welcome to Pennhurst State School and Hospital. I am Alvin Weitz, The Superintendent of this fine facility." He said. "These are orderlies McLaughlin and Schnapp. You are retards, society's rejects, that's why you have been sent to me. The first rule: whatever happens within the confines of Pennhurst is to remain within the confines of Pennhurst. The other rules. You'll learn as you go. Always remember my children: your souls may belong to God, but your asses belong to me."

"Strip your clothes." McLaughlin ordered. "All of you." The children slowly began to strip, except for the brown eyed girl. She continued to stare at Mike. She took a step closer to him when Schnapp struck her across the face.

"You deaf girl?" He barked. "You were told to strip your clothes!"

"Don't hurt her!" Paladin exclaimed.

"You had your shower already Paladin." McLaughlin shot back. "Don't make me give you another one."

"Either you take your clothes off or we rip them off, but they are coming off no matter what." Schnapp stated. The girl looked like she wanted to rip his head off, but she slowly took her clothes off. She kept her eyes on Paladin the whole time, as if he was the only one in the room. Once she was naked, Paladin couldn't help but blush. She had fair skin, the beginning of breasts, and nice curves. He wanted to tell her that she was pretty, but before he could, the children were blasted with hoses. They tried to block the water, but it was too powerful. Eventually, they all huddled in a corner as Schnapp drenched them. After a few minutes, he stopped and the kids were shivering.

"Come get your gowns." Weitz ordered. The children moved towards the clothes, the brown haired girl was straggling when Schnapp hit her with another blast of water. Paladin tried to move to her, but McLaughlin blocked him with his night stick. After five more minutes, he stopped. She laid in the corner, shivering and trying not to cry. Paladin grabbed a gown and took it over to her.

"Here, it's dry." He said as he held her hand.

"Thank you...Mike." She said as she lightly touched him. As he stroked her arm, he saw a "011" tattoo on her wrist. Suddenly, he recovered another memory.

* * *

_Paladin was in the basement once again with the boys from Hawkins Middle School: Dustin and Lucas. Sitting on the couch was the Eleven girl._

_"Is there a number we can call for your parents?"Paladin asked._

_"Where's your hair?" Dustin asked. "Do you have cancer?"_

_"Did you run away?" Lucas asked._

_"Are you in some kind of trouble?"_

_"Is that blood?" Lucas asked as he reached out, only to have Paladin slap his hand away._

_"Stop it!" He exclaimed. "You're freaking her out!"_

_"She's freaking me out!"_

_"I bet she's deaf." Dustin offered as he clapped his hands, provoking a reaction. "Not deaf."_

_"All right, that's enough, all right?" Paladin stated as he got some clean clothes from the hamper. "She's just scared and cold. Here, these are clean." The girl took them and began to change right in front of the boys._

_"No, no, no! Oh, my God. Oh, my God." They all shouted._

_"See over there?" Paladin pointed. "That's the bathroom. Privacy, get it?" The girl took the clothes and went into the bathroom. Paladin tried to close the door but she wouldn't let him._

_"You don't want it closed?" He asked._

_"No." She replied._

_"Oh, so you can speak." He commented. "Okay, well Um, how about we just keep the door just like this." He closed the door a little bit, leaving only a crack. "Is that better?"_

_"Yes." She replied._

_"Night El."_

_"Night Mike."_

* * *

Paladin looked at the girl and recognized her as Eleven.

"Eleven..." he whispered as she nodded.

"Mike." She said with a sad smile.

"You know who I am?" He asked hopefully as she nodded.

"Return Paladin to Q1 and get the other patients settled." Weitz ordered as McLaughlin grabbed Paladin.

"Wait, she knows who I am!" He cried out as he struggled.

"Mike!" Eleven wept.

"Please, she knows who I am!" Paladin begged with tears in his eyes. "Please!"


	22. Hopper Finds The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chief runs into the party and is called out on his mistake.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania_

While Paladin and Eleven were suffering inside the confines of Pennhurst, Chief Jim Hopper was casing the joint. He was making rounds about the premises. The cotillion was in two days and while Eleven was trying to get Mike to remember who he was, Hopper needed to figure out an exit strategy beforehand so he could go over it with Dr. Josiah and he in turn could inform the two lovers. As he was walking on the west side, he saw a car with a young red haired girl leaning up against it. The chief moved closer and saw that it was none other than "Mad Max" Mayfield herself.

"Hey!" He shouted as Max turned to face him. "What in the Hell are you dong here?"

"What are you doing here?" She asked in return.

"Don't give me that shit, start talking."

"We're here to find Mike."

"Seriously?" Hopper growled. "Is the rest of the gang here with you?"

"The party...and yeah." Max replied.

"What the Hell are you kids doing?" Jim asked angrily.

"The guys are conducting "camouflaged surveillance", at least that's what they call it." Max said, not impressed with the boys "military" expertise.

"Just tell them to come here." The Chief sighed. Max pulled out her super com.

"Hey guys, get back to the car." She said. No one replied as Max let out a huge groan.

"What's the matter?" Jim asked as Max tried the super com again.

"Rebel Endor Strike Team...report back to the shuttle...Lando wants to make contact, over." She said, the way the guys had told her to say it. A few moments later, Will Byers came out of the bushes, followed by Lucas Sinclair and Dustin Henderson. They were all wearing bushes and twigs on their persons.

"For the love of God, what the Hell is wrong with you?" Hopper asked in disbelief. "How did you get here anyway?" The party looked up as Mr. Scott Clarke climbed down from a tree wearing a pair of binoculars around his neck.

"Seriously Scott, you let these kids drag you into this." The Chief asked incredulously.

"I am on a curiosity voyage and these children are my crew." The teacher replied defiantly.

"You're like an older version of Dustin." Max giggled. The look on Dustin's face however, told you that he took it as the ultimate compliment.

"A party member is in need of assistance, it is our job to provide that assistance." Dustin stated.

"No, it is not your job." Hopper shot back. "I'm the police chief!"

"You're also the traitor that got Eleven killed!" Lucas exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" The Chief asked.

"You know what we're talking about, you made a deal with Eleven's papa, her for me, didn't you?" Will said angrily. Hopper bowed his head, not knowing what to say.

"Kid..."

"Didn't you!"

"Yes!" Hopper exclaimed just as angrily as Will. "I made a deal with Brenner. He let me and your mom go into the Upside Down and in return, I told him where she was."

"How could you do that?" Max asked.

"Will was gonna die if we didn't find him." Hopper said, defending himself. "Eleven had super powers, I figured that she could hold her own against the people from the lab."

"Yeah, but not against a freaking Demogorgon!" Dustin shouted. "You killed her, you son of a bitch!"

"Dustin!" Mr. Clarke chided.

"She's not dead!" Hopper shouted by accident.

"What do you mean?" Will asked.

"Eleven is alive." He explained. "She found her way back from the Upside Down and she's been staying with me." After the realization that their friend had survived settled down, a new one hit them.

"You've been hiding her, you've been hiding her this whole time!" Lucas shouted.

"The more people know about her, the more danger she is in and the more danger you and your families are in." Jim pointed out.

"This is all your fault!" Will screamed. "Mike thought she was dead because of you, Mike ran away because of you, and now he's being tortured because of you!"

"Listen to me boy..." Hopper started to say.

"No, you listen!" Will interjected. "If Mike dies in there, his blood is on your hands! Do you hear me? YOUR HANDS!" The youngest Byers boy stomped off as the rest of the party followed him; each one shooting daggers at Chief Hopper. Mr. Clarke was the last to pass him.

"What Scott, are you going to tell me that I screwed up too?" The Chief asked.

"Jim, I'm not saying that you made the wrong decision." Mr. Clarke said sympathetically. "But you didn't make the right one either." He walked off, leaving Jim Hopper alone with his thought and the pain he had caused to an innocent boy.


	23. Battle Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleven and Weitz draw their lines in the sand.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania_

After Paladin was dragged out, Eleven was taken to the female's section in Limerick Hall. As bad as it was for the boys in Pennhurst, it was ten times worse for the girls. A girl in Pennhurst learned the three don'ts very quickly, especially when an orderly was around: Don't touch me, don't hurt me, and most important of all, don't rape me. Eleven was left in the main room with the other girls. The other patients saw Eleven but didn't make a move to introduce themselves to her. Eleven wandered over to a corner and huddled, felling sad for her Mike. He remembered her, she knew he would. She just wanted to hold him and to have him kiss her again. Most of all, she wanted to tell him I love you, just like she had seen on the soap operas that she watched in the cabin. Whenever she watched the love scenes between couples, she would imagine that Mike was there saying those things to her. Eleven was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't see a young blonde girl coming up to her.

"Are you OK?" The girl asked as Eleven turned to face her.

"I...don't know..." She replied as the girl sat next to her. She was kind of pretty, but seemed sad and ashamed.

"I'm Laura. Laura Matarazzo."

"I'm...El."

"Is it your first day at Pennhurst?" Laura asked.

"Yes." Eleven replied.

"Just remember, the first day is always the worst." Laura explained. "After today, you get used to being in here. That's what I told Paladin when he came here."

"Paladin?" Eleven asked.

"He's a friend of mine." Laura stared. "He's really cute, He has a head of black mop top hair, and a face full of freckles, and..."

"Mike!" Eleven said with a smile.

"Wait a minute?" Laura asked. "You know who Paladin really is?"

"Mike, short for Michael." El explained. "More than friends."

"Are you his girlfriend?" Laura inquired.

"Girlfriend?"

"Yeah, it's like...when two people love each other, they get into a relationship." Laura told Eleven. "Do you love Paladin...I mean Mike?" Eleven thought it over, Mike was the first person to have show her love and kindness, the first person who ever said that she was pretty. She had fought off a couple of mouth breathers for him, she had sacrificed herself to the Demogorgon for him, and now she had entered Hell's outhouse and had been degraded and humiliated for him. Eleven knew that she could not live without Mike Wheeler. He was her everything. There was only one logical explanation for why she felt this way and why she went through so much for this boy.

"Yes." She replied. "I love Mike, I'm his girlfriend." Laura smiled and hugged her new roommate.

"That's good." She replied. "Mike's been so tortured in this place, I'm glad that he has someone who loves him."

"I have to get him out of here." Eleven said.

"How are you going to do that?" Laura asked. "It's impossible to get out of here." Eleven clecnhed her fist together as she thought of the havoc she would wreak upon the mouth breathers that ran this place.

"I'll fight." She said quietly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Superintendent Alvin Weitz was making preparations of his own. Dr. Josiah was heading to his office to see him and when he entered, he found Weitz talking to his most trusted orderlies.

"What's all this about?" He asked as Weitz dismisses his goons.

"I've been talking to some of my orderlies and we are in agreement that Paladin is getting out of hand." He answered.

"What do you mean?" Josiah asked as Weitz paced the room.

"I run this institution on fear Brown." Alvin explained. "That is the cornerstone of my treatment, that is how I keep the patients in line, this is how order and discipline is kept. Through fear...all day, everyday."

"Fear of what?"

"Of me, of them, of you, of God, of Satan, of the outside world, of these walls, of everything and nothing all at the same time. I fill them with so much fear that there simply isn't room for anything else."

"And what does Paladin have to do with this?" Dr. Brown inquired.

"That new girl, the one with the mage piece." The Superintendent said. "She gave him something, something dangerous, something that has no place within the confines of Pennhurst!"

"That is..." the doctor wondered.

"Hope."

"Hope?"

"Hope." Weitz repeated. "Hope is the only thing stronger than fear."

"I see." Josiah replied.

"I can beat the boy, I can torture him, I can humiliate him, I can do anything I want to him, but it is meaningless as long as he has hope and that new girl, Eleanor...gives him hope."

"She does indeed." He said, trying to hide his intentions.

"So Brown, I need you to contain that hope or I will be forced to snuff it out."

"What does that mean?"

"It means." Weitz said as he leaned into Josiah's face. "Paladin will be silent...or he will be silenced."


	24. Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joyce and Jim share a moment while Weitz prepares his new weapon.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania_

While plans were being made, Chief Hopper, Joyce Byers, and the rest of the party met up in the hotel dining room to brief each other. "We have been conducting surveillance all day and we have not found much." Mr. Clarke reported.

"It's a freaking fortress!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Indeed." Scott continued. "They have brick walls, a high gate at the entrance, whether they're trying to keep the patients in or keep us out, they are preparing for something."

"There has to be something that we can do!" Will exclaimed. "We can't just leave Mike and Eleven in that Shit hole!"

"Will!" Joyce exclaimed in return. "Don't say shit hole!"

"But it is a shit hole mom!" Will argued.

"Have you heard from Josiah?" Joyce asked desperately.

"Yeah." The Chief replied. "He says that Eleven made it in ok, but he's worried about Wheeler. Weitz is intent on breaking the kid."

"We can't just leave Mike in there." Lucas insisted.

"I say, we storm the castle!" Dustin said triumphantly. Everyone just stared at him like he was high.

"That plan is crazy enough that it just might...get us all killed!" Max shouted.

"Well I don't see you coming up with a plan, zoomer." The bard replied. The kids started arguing back and forth. While Mr. Clarke tried to calm them down, Jim went outside to give himself a much deserved smoke break. Usually, Eleven would give him Hell for smoking, but the way he figured it, what she didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Can you spare a cigarette?" Hopper turned around to see Joyce Byers walking up to him. He handed her a cancer stick and lit it.

"I feel like shit." The Chief said. "Wheeler and Eleven are in that Hellhole and everyone is blaming me."

"Hop..." Joyce said as she put her arm on his shoulder.

"And the worst part of it...is that they're right." He groaned. "I kept her away from the Wheeler boy, he thought she was dead because of me."

"No Hop." Joyce said as she turned his face to hers. "No one is willing to say it, but you didn't make Mike leave Hawkins. That was his choice and it was very selfish of him. He had people who loved him and he abandoned them."

"Joyce..." Jim said as she continued.

"I know this sounds bad...but at the end of the day, it's Mike's own fault that he is where he is!" She blurted out.

"You're right Joyce, but we can't keep throwing blame around back and forth." Hopper pointed out. "It's going to split us up and it's not gonna get Wheeler or Eleven out of Pennhurst. We have to be united, we have to work together."

"Together." Joyce repeated. Nothing was said for a few moments when suddenly, she leaned in and kissed the chief. Jim returned the kiss for a few moments before backing away.

"Joyce..." He stuttered as she blushed furiously.

"I should...go help Scott with the kids." She said quickly.

"Good call." Hopper replied as Joyce went back inside. After she left, Chief Hopper cursed at himself. He wanted Joyce Byers more than anything, but she was still dating Bob Newby, it was wrong to make a pass at her while she was with him and he knew it. He had himself another smoke as he tried to make sense of the whole situation.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Pennhurst, Superintendent Weitz has having work done on the speakers and having spotlights brought in. As he was overseeing all of this, Dr. Josiah came upon him.

"What is the meaning of all this?" He asked.

"Ah, Dr. Brown." Weitz said with a smirk. "We're trying something new. We will be conducting a psyological operations for the next couple of nights."

"A psy-op? What does that entail?"

"Well, we're planning on depriving the patients of sleep with some bright lights and some very loud, very annoying music. Sleep deprivation is often a great tool to create compliance." Josiah could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"Let me get this straight." He said. "You are taking children who are already mentally unstable and your plan...is to drive them mad in the hopes that somehow, they will become more reasonable? Do you have any idea how absurd that sounds?"

"We have to try for the patients own good." Weitz replied as Josiah caught on.

"This is about Paladin, isn't it?" he asked.

"I think it can help him."

"Rubbish!" Dr. Brown exclaimed. "This is not about psychiatric care. This is pure torture!"

"Call it what you like." Alvin grinned as he left Dr. Josiah in a state of despair.


	25. Psy-ops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Superintendent Weitz unleashes psychological torment on the children of Pennhurst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS. WANGO TANGO BELONGS TO TED NUGENT.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania._

Jonathan Byers was driving like a madman. After he got the note that Will had run off to Spring City to save Mike, he immediately got in the car and went after him. However, he made the mistake of stopping at the Wheeler house to see Nancy. He only meant to tell her that her brother was alive. Once she heard those words however, she instantly demanded to be taken to where Mike was. After an argument that he was never going to win, Jonathan ended up taking Nancy with him to Pennsylvania. They drove the 11 hour trip and arrived in the early evening on the first day of Eleven's imprisonment. Will had not given them a specific place in the note, he had only said Spring City, Pennsylvania.

"So, where do we go?" Nancy asked in despair.

"I don't know." Jonathan replied. "Let's just find a motel for the night."

* * *

Meanwhile at the hotel, Joyce Byers was having a serious conversation with her youngest son.

"What were you thinking Will?" She asked in disbelief. "Running away from home, your brother must be worried sick."

"I was trying to save Mike" Will argued.

"That's not an excuse." Joyce argued. "Your brother must be freaking out."

"I left him a note, it's OK." Will shot back.

"No it is not OK." Joyce insisted. "You can't just leave without telling someone and you certainly can't leave by yourself."

"I didn't, Mr. Clarke was with us." Will pointed out.

"Guys." Dustin said as he looked out the window.

"I'm trying to protect you Will!"

"You can't protect me from everything!"

"Guys!" Everyone turned to Dustin as he pointed out the window. They looked outside and saw Jonathan and Nancy getting out of Mrs. Wheeler's car.

"What in the Hell!" Chief Hopper shouted as he and Joyce ran out to the teenagers.

"Jonathan Lonnie Byers!" She shouted as the photographer looked at his furious mother.

"Mom?" Jonathan shrieked in surprise. "Did you find Will?"

"Yes, he's here." Joyce replied. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to find him, he left me a note that said he was going to Spring City to find Mike." He explained.

"Is there anyone in Hawkins who isn't on their way here?" Jim asked in pure frustration.

"My parents." Nancy replied without a trace of sarcasm.

* * *

Back at Pennhurst, all of the patients were getting ready for lights out. Paladin was tired and sad. He wished that Eleven could be there so he could cuddle with her. However, Superintendent Weitz and his cronies were also getting ready for lights out. He had rigged the intercoms in the patient wings and sets of spotlights outside.

"Are we ready?" Weitz asked.

"All set." McLaughlin replied as Sink and Montgomery were finishing the set up. Schnapp was in the administrative building, manning the sound system.

"Lights on!" Weitz shouted as the spot lights were turned on. All of the patients sat up and looked out at the brightness.

"What's going on?" Jacob asked as Paladin couldn't answer him.

"Start the music!" Alvin shouted as loud hard rock music began playing in the buildings.

_All right! It's Zee Wango, Zee Tango._

It was being played way too loud and the kids were trying to cover their ears. Meanwhile, Eleven and Laura were up as well, trying to drown out the music.

"Please Stop!" Paladin cried out at Weitz. "The kids can't take it."

"What?" The Superintendent mocked. "The kids can't hear it? Don't cry little ones, we can turn it up!" The music got even louder as the voice of Ted Nugent screamed through the halls.

_Is my baby alive? (Is my baby alive?)_

_Is my baby alive? (Is my baby alive?)_

_Is my baby alive?_

_She Wango'd to death_

_Wango Tango (Wango Tango)_

_Wango Tango (Wango Tango)_

_Wango Tango (Wango Tango)_

_Wango Tango (Wango Tango)_

_Wango Tango_

_Wango Tango_

_Wango Tango_

_Wango Tango_

_Wango Wango_

_Tango Tango_

_Wango Wango Wango Wango_

_Tango Tango Tango Tango_

By the time the song was finished, the children crying and shaking from the overstimulation. "Wasn't That Lovely?" Weitz asked. "Let's hear it again, in fact...keep playing it all night long!" The orderlies set it up to play again as Ted Nugent came back on. While all of their patients were banging on the walls and windows begging for mercy, Eleven was angry, they were hurting Mike and she was done.

"No more!" She exclaimed as she raised her hand and concentrated. In a minute or so, the music was cut off and the lights broke. As Weitz and his cronies were cussing up a storm. Eleven wiped away her nose blood.

"Night Mike." She whispered as she went back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WEITZ IS NEARING WITS END, BUT SO IS ELEVEN. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.


	26. The Day Of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paladin regains his memory and becomes Mike Wheeler again.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania_

The next day, Dr. Josiah was briefed on the events of the previous night. He in turn, reported it to Chief Jim Hopper. He was alone with Joyce Byers as the kids, along with Mr. Clarke, were conducting more surveillance at Pennhurst State School and Hospital.

"I swear to God, I am gonna..." the Chief started to say before Joyce stopped him.

"Hop, it's OK." She replied. "She'll be OK."

"You heard what that son of a bitch is doing to her!" He exclaimed. "He's torturing those kids!"

"I know and it's tearing at me...but Eleven knew what she was doing." Joyce reminded him. "She chose to go into Pennhurst."

"Why!" Hopper roared. "Why would she willing put herself through Hell like that?"

"Because she loves Mike!" Joyce exclaimed. "That boy is her everything. Eleven is willing to go into the place, suffer the worst kind of humiliation, if it means that she can get him back. If it comes down to it, she will lay down her life for Mike; Hell, she did it once already. What those two have is true love. Are they too young for that? Absolutely, but it is there."

"And how do you know what true love is Joyce?"

"Because...I just know."

"Because of Bob the Brain." Jim scoffed as Joyce grew bright red.

"Because of you jackass!" Joyce shouted as Hopper stopped dead in his tracks. It took a few moments for it to register. Was Joyce saying what he thought she was saying? Did she really love him as he had always loved her?

"You choose your next words very carefully Joyce Byers." Chief Hopper said as the single mother moved closer to him.

"I care about Bob Newby a lot." She replied. "He gave me a sense of normalcy, he treated me like a queen, and he was a good role model for my boys. These are things I've needed desperately. However, it will never work with Bob for the same reason that was never gonna work with Lonnie."

"What reason is that?" The Chief asked nervously.

"They aren't you." Joyce replied. "Ever since high school, I wanted you, but I could never have you. Then when you married Diana and had Sara...I knew my chance was gone forever. Then you came back...and I had hope...hope that someday, I could have you to myself.

"Joyce..." He stuttered.

"I love you Jim Hopper." She declared. "Do you love me?" Hopper was silent for a minute before giving his answer.

"You know I do." Joyce grabbed the Chief and kissed him furiously. He picked her up in his strong arms and set her down in the bed as they undressed and made glorious love.

* * *

Over at Pennhurst, the patients were engaging in outdoor physicsl activity. Not to benefit their health, but in order to tire them out and make them more compliant. Eleven was in the lawn running along with the other kids as she found Paladin in the crowd of runners. In a split second as they passed Quaker Hall, Eleven grabbed his hand and pulled him quickly over to a group of bushes. The lovers caught their breath as they knelt down behind the shrubs.

"Eleven...what's going on?" Paladin asked.

"Had to see you...I miss you." Eleven replied. Paladin held the girl's hands. There was clearly so much that he didn't remember about this girl.

"Eleven...please tell me about...us...I don't remember very much." Paladin begged.

"You found me on Mirkwood...you made pillow fort for me...you kept me safe from the bad men...from papa..." Eleven said as the boy struggled to remember.

"I can't remember." Paladin said sadly as The girl began to tear up.

"In cafeteria...you said I could live with you...we would go to Snow Ball...you don't go with sister...you go with someone you like...you said we were more than friends."

"More than friends?" Eleven nodded as she took a deep breath, leaned in, and kissed Paladin on the lips. As she kissed him, Paladin felt a feeling that he had never previously known. He felt love, real love. Then suddenly, like a ton of bricks, his memories came back; one by one.

His life before November 7, 1983.

Will's disappearance.

Finding Eleven on Mirkwood.

Making a home for her in his basement.

Searching for the gate to the Upside Down.

Being saved from Troy and James.

Running from the bad men.

Building the sensory deprivation tank.

And Eleven sacrificing herself to kill the Demogorgon...in that moment, Paladin was gone. Mike Wheeler had returned. Mind, body, and soul.

"El..." he muttered as they broke the kiss.

"Mike..." El whispered as she saw the glint in his eyes.

"I remember you, I remember the party, It's all coming back to me." He said with tears of joy coming down his face. "I know who I am. I know who you are. I'm Mike Wheeler!"

"Did you forget me?" El asked in fear.

"No, I could never forget you, I thought you were dead." Mike replied, squeezing her hands.

"I wanted to save you." She explained. "Save friends. I will never leave you, you will never leave me."

"Promise?" Mike asked through his tears. It was his way of saying _I love you_.

"Promise." El replied. It was her way of saying _I love you too_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MIKE WHEELER IS BACK AND THE PALADIN HAS FOUND HIS MAGE. NOW THEY MUST ESCAPE PENNHURST. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.


	27. The Cotillion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike and Eleven plan to escape from Pennhurst.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania._

After Mike had returned, he and Eleven, along with Dr. Josiah, began planning their escape.

"All right, tomorrow evening is the cotillion." He explained. "All of the patients, orderlies, doctors, and Superintendent Weitz himself will all be in the assembly building. If I can sneak you two out, you would have free roam of the campus."

"We meet friends and leave." El stated.

"It won't be easy." Mike replied. "Weitz isn't gonna let anyone go without a fight."

"He can't have you." She swore as she cupped his face. "You are mine, he can't have you." Mike embraced his one true love as Josiah paced about the office.

"Michael is right, if Alvin even suspects that you two are thinking of escaping, he will break you down." He agreed.

"If he hurts Mike...I will break him." Eleven shot back. Dr. Brown shook his head as Mike squeezed Eleven's hand.

"I will contact Chief Hopper and arrange a time and a place for him to pick you up." The doctor promised.

"Once we're free, then what do we do?" Mike asked.

"Go home, try to get your life back together."

"What about Weitz? We can't let him get away with what he's done."

"I agree and I have filed a criminal complaint with the Spring City police department, all we can do is wait for them to obtain an arrest warrant for Superintendent Weitz."

"That's all?"

"I'm afraid so." Dr. Brown replied. "The cotillion is tomorrow night, all you two need to do is make it through the next 12 hours and then you're free."

* * *

It was extremely difficult but somehow Mike and Eleven made it through another day of abuse. By evening, the gymnasium was being set up for the cotillion. Weitz had actually sprung for some mediocre decorations. All of the patients had been herded like cattle into the gym. Eventually, music began to play but no one was really dancing. The patients were pretty much just standing there, looking as if they were too scared to really do much of anything. The only people who actually were dancing were Mike and El.

"Do you...do you wanna dance?" Mike asked.

"I...don't know how." El admitted.

"Neither do I." He replied. "You wanna figure it out?" She nodded as she put her arms around Mike's shoulders and he put his hands on her waist. They moved in time with the music. For a moment, the two forgot that they were inside Pennhurst. In that moment, it was just Mike and El; lost in their own little world. They had lost each other, but had found their way back home. He was her home and she was his.

"El..."

"Yes..."

"Please, please tell me that you're real." Mike pleaded. He had waited for her and dreamt of her for so long, but she was never there. She was only a figment of his imagination, nothing more than a bittersweet memory. Mike was still afraid that El would disappear at any moment.

"Mike, I am real." She insisted as she cupped his cheek and leaned in and kissed him passionately upon the lips. Mike returned the kiss with equal passion. They were being watched by Dr. Josiah who was waiting for the perfect opportunity to smuggle them out. While he watching the lovebirds enjoy a moment to themselves, he was approached by orderly Montgomery.

"Dr. Brown?" Montgomery said as he approached the doctor.

"Can I help you?" Josiah inquired.

"Superintendent Weitz needs you in Mayflower Hall, he says that there is a emergency going on with one of the low functioning patients." The orderly replied. This caught the psychiatrist off guard.

"It was my understanding that all of the patients were in here." Dr. Brown said.

"I don't make the orders, I just carry them out." Montgomery shrugged. "He said that no time should be wasted." Brown did not want to leave, but orders were orders. He decided to take care of the emergency and return as quickly as he could. Meanwhile, Mike and El were still dancing when Mclaughlin and Schnapp walked up to them.

"Paladin, Mr. Weitz wants to see you right now." McLaughlin barked.

"What's going on?" Mike asked.

"He said a couple claiming to be your parents showed up and they want to see if they can ID you." He replied. Mike was stunned. Could this be the plan? We're Chief Hopper and Joyce going to pose as Mike's parents in order to get him out?

"All right." He said as kissed El's cheek before heading off with McLaughlin. Once they had left, Schnapp turned to Eleven.

"I need you to come with me." He said with a smile.

"Why?" El asked nervously. She had a gut feeling that Schnapp was up to no good.

"Don't ask questions bitch." He barked. "Do as your told." El reluctantly allowed Schnapp to lead her out of the gymnasium. She, Mike, and Dr. Josiah were unaware of the horrors in store for them on their last night in Pennhurst.


	28. It’s A Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike and Eleven face a final showdown with Weitz and his minions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania._

As Montgomery led Dr. Josiah Brown out of the assembly building, the doctor was getting nervous. He only had a limited time frame to get Mike and El out of Pennhurst and the window was closing. As the two men walked into Mayflower Hall, Josiah was led into a padded room.

"Where's the patient?" Dr. Josiah asked as Montgomery suddenly struck him in the back of the head with his nightstick. He fell to the ground in pain as the orderly stood over him.

"Bloody Hell!" Dr. Brown groaned as Montgomery kicked him in the gut.

"You're a traitor Brown." He spat. "Mr. Weitz had informed us of your treachery."

"I have no idea...what you are talking about." Brown groaned as Montgomery kicked him again.

"Weitz put a bug in your phone, he heard you calling that police Chief from Indiana!" He stated as Josiah groaned in agony.

"I had to...Alvin is torturing those kids." The doctor replied. "He's a monster."

"Mr. Weitz says that those kids are not human beings." The orderly argued. "Weitz says that we can do anything that we want to them. He told me to keep you in here until we figure out what's to be done with you." Montgomery exited the room and locked the door. As Dr. Josiah moved around the padded cell, he prayed that Mike and El would be able to escape without him.

* * *

As Schnapp escorted El out of the gymnasium, she was worried about her Mike. She hated that he was alone with Weitz, without her being there to protect him. Schnapp lead her over to an empty room and locked the door. The girl looked at the orderly with fright.

"Strip your clothes, little girl." Schnapp commanded. El shook her head.

"No...privacy." She stated as Schnapp moved closer.

"I said strip your clothes!" He ordered as he began to unbuckle his belt. El refused again and he grabbed her and tore off her gown, leaving her naked.

"I wish Paladin was here to see this." Schnapp remarked as El's eyes grew wide.

"Leave Mike alone." She gritted as she covered herself with her hands.

"I'm not gonna touch him...Mr. Weitz on the other hand..."

"What is he doing to Mike?"

"Now that Mike knows who he is, he can never leave Pennhurst." Schnapp explained. "We don't need some frog face loser bringing the pigs in here. So Mr. Weitz is going to fry his brain; give him a real shock to his system. By the time they're done with him, he'll be no better than a vegetable."

"NO!" El screamed. They couldn't turn Mike into a vegetable. She didn't want Mike to be a vegetable. She wanted Mike to be Mike, she loved him the way he was.

"Weitz knows what's going on and he's gonna make sure that Mike knows what went down here." The orderly said as he dropped his trousers and underwear. "The last thing Mike Wheeler will ever understand is that I took his girlfriend and made her my slut!" He grabbed El and started firing her to her knees. El struggled until she decided that now was the time to use her powers. She focused on one spot and with a jerk of her head, damaged Schnapp's manhood.

"HOLY SHIT!" He screamed as he fell to the ground in agony. "MY DICK...BITCH...YOU BITCH!"

"Where is Mike?" El demanded as she stood up and moved closer.

"GO TO HELL YOU DEVIL BITCH!" Schnapp roared as he held his crooked member.

"Bend it back?" She threatened.

"No please, Quaker Hall, Weitz was taking Mike to Quaker Hall, I swear!" He pleaded. El grabbed her gown, put it on and ran out of the assembly building. She was going to get her man back.

* * *

As Mike was led away by Superintendent Weitz and Mclaughlin, he wanted nothing more than to run back to El. Weitz and Mclaughlin led Mike out of the administrative building and into Quaker Hall. The Wheeler boy was taken into the lower levels of the building and into a secluded room. Inside there were electrodes attaches to a chair. Before Mike could tell what was going on, Weitz locked the door and Mclaughlin slammed his night stick into the boy's chest.

"You thought you could get out of here, did you?" The superintendent asked.

"What are...you talking about?" Mike groaned.

"I took the liberty of placing a bug in Dr. Josiah's telephone." Weitz explained. "Every conversation he had with Jim Hopper was heard by me." Mike sighed as Mclaughlin strapped him into the chair.

"Let me go!" Mike shouted as McLaughlin held him down. "Let me go you bastard!"

"It's a shame that your little girlfriend can't be here to watch you fry." Weitz whispered as Mike's eyes widened.

"El!" He exclaimed. "What have you done with her?"

"Schnapp is making her his bitch as we speak." Alvin said with delight.

"NO!" Mike screamed as tears ran down his face. "ELEVEN! DON'T TOUCH HER YOU BASTARDS!" Mike struggled against the restraints, but it was no use. Weitz turned on the electrodes and set the level to 450.

"Your precious Eleven can not save you now." Weitz said, but before he could flip the switch, the door burst open. All 3 men turned to see El staring at them with fury. McLaughlin moved towards her, but she pushed him back. Weitz looked at her with shock and disbelief. She stretched out her hand and held Weitz with her powers.

"You hurt Mike." She said angrily. Weitz suddenly grabbed his chest as pain racked throughout his body. Mike stared at Weitz and realized that El was actually giving him a heart attack. El was crushing his heart with her powers.

"He...Doesn't deserve...to live!" He gasped as he grabbed his chest in agony.

"You hurt Mike!" El repeated. "NOW I WILL HURT YOU!" She let out a blood curdling scream as she focused all her energy on Weitz. She could feel his heart exploding like a water ballon on impact. He slumped down and just like that, Superintendent Alvin Weitz was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE EVIL ALVIN WEITZ IS DEAD. NEXT TIME, THE PARTY MAKES THEIR ESCAPE AND BEGINS THE JOURNEY BACK TO HAWKINS. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.


	29. Escape From Pennhurst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike & El make good on their escape from Pennhurst asylum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

_Spring City, Pennsylvania_

After Weitz had died, El went over to Mike and released him from the chair.

"El...did they hurt you?" Mike asked in fear as she shook her head.

"No, I hurt the bad man." El replied. Mike held her tightly in his arms.

"I love you so much El." He said as he smelled her hair.

"I love you too Mike." She replied. "I'll never leave you again."

"Promise?"

"Promise." El kissed Mike before grabbing his hand and running out of Quaker Hall. They ran all the way back to the administrative building where they found that the patients were still attempting to dance while Orderly Sink was clearly taking charge.

"Hey." Mike said out loud, but no one paid attention to him. "HEY!" El cut off the music with a twitch of her neck as everyone turned to look at the couple.

"Mike?" Laura asked as she and Jacob stepped forward.

"Superintendent Alvin Weitz...is dead." Mike stared as everyone looked at him in shock. Some kids smiled at the news, but most were just stunned. The man had seemed indestructible.

"So...does this mean that we're not getting paid for tonight?" Sink asked. Everyone groaned at such a callous statement.

"Mouth breather." El replied.

"My name is Michael Theodore Wheeler and I am going home." Mike stared defiantly.

"Says who?" Dr. Dyer inquired as El pushed him back a few feet. Everyone looked in shock.

"We are." He replied. Mike looked around and noticed that Dr. Josiah Brown was missing.

"Where's Dr. Josiah?" He asked.

"He's in a padded room in Mayflower Hall." Montgomery answered.

"Get him out." El said. Montgomery did as he was told, too frightened of El's powers to really do anything else. About ten minutes later, the orderly returned with a disheveled Dr. Josiah.

"Michael, are you all right?" He asked.

"Yeah, Weitz is dead." Mike replied. Josiah was shocked, but he would be a liar if he said that Weitz's death didn't please him.

"You should get out now while you still can." He said.

"What about you?" Mike asked.

"Don't worry about me." Dr. Brown replied. "Just get as far away from here as you can...I wish I could." Mike nodded as he gave Dr. Josiah a hug.

"Thank you." He said.

"Be safe Michael Wheeler." The doctor said. As Mike and El turned to leave, they were stopped by Jacob and Laura.

"Mike!" Laura exclaimed as the two children gave him hugs.

"You're not going to forget us, are you?" Jacob asked.

"I'll never forget about you guys." Mike promised.

"El came and saved you." Laura said through her tears. "Maybe someday...you could send someone to save us too." Mike took Laura's hands in his.

"I promise, this all gonna end someday." Mike vowed. "The bastards who hurt us won't be able to anymore. I promise." Laura nodded as Mike and El ran out of the administrative building and made it to the front gate where Hopper, Joyce, and the party where waiting for them. Nancy ran forward and hugged her little brother.

"Mike, I'm sorry." She wept. "I'm so sorry about everything."

"Me too." Mike replied.

"There are you are." The Chief said. "We were getting worried."

"We have to go." Mike said as everyone piled into the vehicles. Mike and El got In Hopper's car along with him. Joyce, Will, and Jonathan piled into her car. Lucas and Max rode with Nancy while Dustin rode with Mr. Clarke. Once everyone had piled into a car, the party prepared to leave when sirens were heard. Everyone watched as squad cars pulled up to the gates of Pennhurst. Several officers got out brandishing pistols.

"WE HAVE A WARRANT TO SEARCH THE PREMISES!" One officer shouted through a bullhorn. "IF YOU DO NOT COOPERATE, YOU WILL BE SUBJECT TO ARREST!"

"We gotta get going." Hopper grunted. "If they find El, they're gonna start asking questions." Everyone stepped on the gas as they pulled out and sped out of Spring City.

"What happened in there?" The Chief asked.

"Weitz tried to hurt Mike, I killed him." El replied.

"I'm just glad that Schnapp didn't hurt you." Mike said as El wrapped her arms around him.

"What was he doing?" Jim asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"He pulled down his pants and pulled out his thing." She said as Hopper almost stepped on the brakes.

"HE DID WHAT?" He roared.

"It's OK." She said nervously. "I bent it." Hopper looked disgusted for a moment before chuckling at the thought of that pervert getting what he deserved.

"That's my girl." Hopper remarked, remembering what it was like to be a proud father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MIKE AND ELEVEN ARE OUT OF PENNHURST. NEXT TIME, THEY BEGIN THE LONG JOURNEY HOME TO HAWKINS. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.


	30. Pit Stop In Pittsburgh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone takes a moment to catch their breath and regroup in the steel city.

_Pittsburg, Pennsylvania_

As the party drove into Pittsburg, Hopper was running on caffeine. Meanwhile, Mike and El were in the back. Mike was resting up against El who was also asleep, her hand in tangled in Mike's. The first thing that needed to be was that Hopper needed to find a store where he could buy clothes for the kids so that they could get out of those awful gowns. Suddenly, Mike began to stir in his sleep. This woke El who saw Mike shivering in fear.

"No...don't touch me." Mike said in his sleep.

"Mike, wake up," El said as she started to shake the boy.

"Leave me alone!" He cried out. "Don't hurt me!"

"Mike, wake up, wake up!" She cried out as he finally opened his eyes and saw his one true love.

"El..." Mike sobbed as she pulled him close.

"You had a bad dream." El said as she kissed his head. Mike was still scared as El held him tightly.

"I'm trying to find somewhere to pick up some clothes for you kids." The Chief said as he drove through the city.

"Go back to sleep Mike." El said as she laid his head on her lap.

"I can't..." Mike replied. The thoughts of the horrors that he had endured at Pennhurst were still flowing through his mind.

"I'm here, I won't let anyone hurt you." She assured him as she stroked his head.

"Promise?" He asked.

"Promise." She swore.

* * *

About 15 minutes later, Chief Hopper pulled into a thrift store parking lot. In the back, Mike was asleep with his head in El's lap. As he got out and opened the door for the kids to get out, he saw El stroking Mike's head and whispering to him.

"I'm here, you're safe."

"I'm here, you're safe."

"I'm here, you're safe." She whispered to Mike over and over and over again. It had seemed to do wonders for the boy. He had fallen asleep and hadn't had any nightmares.

"Hey kid, I found a store for you and Wheeler to get some normal clothes." Jim pointed out. "We got to get you out of those gowns, they're gonna attract too much attention." El nodded as she turned to her sleeping soulmate.

"Mike, Honey." She whispered as she gently shook him. She had heard from the soap operas that when people were in love they called each other names. Mike slowly woke up and immediately wrapped his arms around El.

"Hopper wants us to get clothes." She said. "He wants to us to go in."

"Together?" Mike asked hopefully.

"Together." Mike nodded as the kids got out and they both kept their arms around each other. As they went into the store, the Chief began looking for clothes that would fit Mike and El. Jim Hopper wasn't much of a stylist, but he found some clothes that would do the just fine. Some overalls and a long sleeve shirt for El. For Mike, he found a striped polo and some jeans. As Mike touched the fabric, he felt a sense of familiarity; a sense of comfort. These were clean clothes, not the worn down Hospital gowns that were never repaired or replaced. The administration didn't have money to spare so if a patient wrecked their gown and there wasn't a replacement, they ended up going naked. After the lovebirds had been properly clothed, the party from Hawkins was back on the road. As Hopper drove out of Pittsburgh, he saw the Denny's that Joyce and El had seen on their way in.

"Hey, there's a Denny's up here." The Chief said. "You wanna get something to eat, you must be starving after stomaching that crap at Pennhurst."

"Yeah." Mike agreed as El kissed his forehead.

"What did you guys eat there?"

"Shitty food and sometimes none at all." Jim cursed the late Alvin Weitz under his breath as he pulled into the restaurant. The other cars followed suit and everyone piled out.

"Man, I'm dying for some grub." Dustin remarked.

"Seconded." Lucas replied as everyone went in. Hopper ordered a table for 11 people and they put two tables together to accommodate the large group. After they all ordered, the party was peppering Mike and El with questions about their time in Pennhurst. As Mike told them about his time in the asylum, everyone was saddened, disgusted, and angry that innocent children had been subjected to such inhumane conditions and treatment seemingly for kicks.

"How did you guys escape?" Jonathan inquired.

"A bad man took me away from Mike." El explained. "He pulled down his pants and tried to stick his thing in me." Everyone was holding their breath, praying that El had stopped him before she had been violated.

"Did you...did you use your powers?" Nancy asked fearfully as El nodded.

"I bent it." She stated.

"Bent?" Mr. Clarke asked as El raised up her pointer finger and then bent it, showing what she had done to Schnapp's manhood. Everyone was shocked and disgusted.

"Oh my God, that is so nasty." Dustin said as he covered his face with his hat.

"I'm gonna dry heave." Max added. El looked scared as everyone except Mike and Hopper looked ill.

"Did I do something bad?" She asked as Joyce came to the rescue.

"Not at all sweetheart." Mrs. Byers assured her. "That man had no right to try and do that."

"He had it coming to him Eleven, trust me." Mr. Clarke asserted.


	31. Back Home In Hawkins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Party finally returns home and Mike faces his parents.

_Hawkins, Indiana._

After many hours of driving, everyone finally returned to Hawkins. Everyone was tired, but happy that Mike was back with them. When they arrived in town, Mr. Clarke agreed to drop off Dustin and Lucas.

"I better get back before the wife gets even more upset." Mr. Clarke they got in the car, Lucas and Dustin embraced Eleven.

"It's good to have you back home." Lucas said.

"We missed you a lot." Dustin added.

"I missed you too." Eleven replied. After the boys got in the car, Mr. Clarke turned to Eleven.

"You are an amazing girl Eleanor...I mean Eleven." He said as El smiled.

"Thank you." She said. Mr. Clarke had a question to ask, but was nervous.

"Do you think...would it be OK I mean...if I could watch you, use your powers sometime?" He inquired.

"You want to watch me?" El asked.

"You see, for, a scientist like me who has always thought that telekinesis wasn't possible, this is kind of a big deal for me." Eleven thought about it for a minute and then nodded. Mr. Clarke was clearly pleased as Chief Hopper promised to set up a time where Scott could come up to the cabin. After Mr. Clarke left with Dustin and Lucas, The chief took Max home. She was not looking forward to dealing with her family and explaining where she had been the past few days. However, she had ridden along with El, Mike, and Will in Hopper's squad vehicle. On the ride back, Max and El had been talking and were actually beginning to enjoy each other's company. By the time that they arrived at the Mayfield-Hargrove residence, the girls were talking as if they were already best friends.

"So, you think we can hang out one of these days?" Max asked as El smiled.

"I'd like to." She replied as Max gave her a hug. After Mad Max made her exit, The remainder of the party went to the Byers home. Mike had once again fallen asleep and Will had decided to ride along with Hopper while Jonathan rode with Joyce and Nancy was driving her mom's car. While El stroked Mike's head as he slept, she also talked a lot with Will. They had never gotten to meet before the meal at Denny's, but they found that they both shared a love of Mike Wheeler. He was their soulmate. Mike was Eleven's soulmate in a romantic way and Mike was Will's soulmate in a brotherly sense. They pulled up to the Byers place and Hopper went straight to the phone to call Karen Wheeler and inform her that her son was alive. While he did that, Will and El were saying their goodbyes.

"It was...really great to finally meet you Eleven." He said as they hugged.

"You too." She replied.

"Thank you for protecting Mike." Will whispered in her ear as he touched Mike's head before getting out of the car. After Will, Jonathan, and Joyce had gone inside, Hopper got back in the vehicle.

"I called Wheeler's mom, she's hysterical and she's expecting us." He said as they drove towards the Wheeler home.

"Hop, are you and Joyce...more than friends?" Eleven asked as the Chief sighed.

"Yeah kid, I think so." He admitted. "She just has to tell Bob that." Eleven nodded as they finally pulled up to the Wheeler home. Sure enough Karen was on the front lawn, sobbing her eyes out. As Hopper got out, Eleven gently shook Mike awake.

"Mike, you're home." She said as he woke up.

"Home?" He asked as she nodded. The door opened and the two got out.

"Michael!" Mrs. Wheeler cried as she ran toward her boy and hugged him tightly. She was so happy to see her son that she didn't even care that Nancy had taken her car without her knowledge or permission.

"Mom." Mike replied as he hugged her back.

"I was so scared, don't ever leave like that again!" She wailed as she held and kissed him. Eleven stood close by, secretly wishing that she had a mother who loved her as much as Mike's mother loved him. As everyone went inside the Wheeler home, Hopper knew that he, Eleven, and especially Mike himself had some explaining to do. Mike knew this too and he knew that it was not going to be a short story or a pretty one. However, he was comforted by the fact that Eleven was there. As they all congregated in the living room, they saw that Ted Wheeler was asleep in his lay-z-boy.


	32. Confession Is Good For The Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ted & Karen Wheeler finally learn the truth.

_Hawkins, Indiana._

Once everyone was inside. Mike saw down next to El who was holding his hand. "Where have you been all this time Mike?" Karen asked as she dried her eyes and sat across from Mike with her husband.

"It's a long story." Mike replied as he looked up at Chief Hopper who in turn looked at Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler.

"A very long story." The Chief insisted.

"Well, I think I have a right to know." Ted insisted. Eleven held Mike's hand tightly in hers. She was quite nervous at the idea of the Wheeler's knowing the truth about her and where she came from.

"All right Ted, we will tell you, but you both have to swear that everything that we tell you will not leave this room." The Chief insisted.

"Not ever." Mike added. Ted and Karen gave each other a nervous glance.

"All right." Mrs. Wheeler agreed.

"OK." Mr. Wheeler agreed as well. Mike took a deep breath as he began to tell them the true story surrounding the disappearance of Will Byers.

"So...a couple of days after Will went missing, me and the party went out to find him..." Mike started to explain.

"Michael!" Karen interjected. "You weren't allowed to go out!"

"I know, but please...just let me explain." Mike pleaded. He continued to get deeper into the story, how he found Eleven, how they discovered the Upside Down, how they had tried to save Eleven from the bad men, and how Eleven had saved them from the Demogorgon. Karen was brought to tears when Eleven described how she had been mistreated by Dr. Martin Brenner.

"Papa would lock me in a room for a long while if I didn't behave." She said. "The bad men would hit me and say mean things to me." Karen looked at the poor girl with tears running down her face. She said nothing as she went over and wrapped El in a hug.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you, you are a sweet girl and you didn't deserve that."

"Thank you." El replied as her eyes teared up. Once the story was finished, Mike was ready to tell them what had happened after he left Hawkins.

"After El was gone, it was hard just to get up every morning." He explained. "I kept calling on the supercom, hoping that she was out there...then I heard something on the Ham radio at school. It was something from Pennsylvania, about a girl who was on the run from the cops. She had a number in her arm and...I thought maybe...It was El."

* * *

_Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. 5 months ago._

After Mike had left a goodbye note for his friends and family, he began his career as a hitchhiker. He had brought along with only only a few changes of clothes, what money that he had saved up, and some food. He stuck out his thumb and hitched rides out of Indiana and into Ohio and then into Pennsylvania. Most of the time, he was picked up with no problem; there were a few creeps, but Mike didn't stick around long enough for them to do anything. By the time that he finally got to Pittsburgh, he was broke and out of food. He began his search for the girl that he hoped was El, but after several days he came up empty handed. The straw that broke the camel's back came when Mike overheard two police officers talking about the perp. They described her as a dark skinned girl with highlights in her hair and she was dressed in stereotypical punk rocker fashion. The girl was clearly not his El. As Mike wandered the streets in despair, he was noticed by a gang of boys who cornered him.

"Give us all your bread kid!" One of them ordered.

"I don't have any money." Mike pleaded.

"Bull shit!" Another shouted as the boys jumped Mike and proceeded to kick the living skit out of him. After five minutes of ass kicking, they ran off; leaving a broken and bloody Mike laying on the ground. He was without cash, without food, and without hope. Eleven was really gone and she would never go to the Snowball with him...

* * *

_Hawkins, Indiana. Present day._

_"_ And that is the last thing I remembered." Mike told everyone. "The next thing I knew, I didn't know who I was. Someone called the cops and I was shipped off to Pennhurst."

"Pennhurst?" Ted Wheeler asked. "Isn't that a nuthouse?"

"It is Hell on Earth." Mike snapped as Eleven nodded. Mike explained to his parents everything that had happened to him and all the horrors that Superintendent Alvin Weitz and the orderlies had subjected them to. After Mike and El had told the story of their time at Pennhurst. Everyone was affected by it, Hopper was angry at those bastards for hurting those kids, Ted was rendered speechless by his son's account and Karen ran straight into the nearest bathroom, threw up into the toilet and cried for the children.


	33. A Jopper Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hopper and Joyce finally confess their love for each other.

_Hawkins, Indiana._

The next day, Chief Hopper allowed Eleven to spend the day with Mike. It wasn't because he was comfortable leaving his daughter alone with him, but because he needed to pay Joyce Byers a visit. He drove over to her home and was relieved to see that Bob Newby's car was no where in sight. The Chief got out of his car and knocked on the door. When Joyce opened the door, she was surprised to see Jim Hopper on her front step.

"Hop!" Joyce exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I know, sorry for coming unannounced." He replied as he removed his hat.

"You wanna...come in?" She asked. Hopper nodded as he stepped inside. Joyce shut the door behind her and the two sat down at her kitchen table.

"So, has are the boys doing?" He inquired.

"They're OK, Jonathan and Nancy are out on a date and Will is over at Dustin's house." Jim nodded as he was thankful to have the house to themselves.

"That's good." He said in an absent minded way.

"What about El, how's she been?" Joyce inquired.

"She's been with Wheeler almost every day." He groaned.

"I know, Karen told me." She assured him. Things had not been the same since Mike had come back. His treatment at Pennhurst had seriously messed him up in the head. He had gone to Dr. Owens at Hawkins Lab and been diagnosed with PTSD. Certain sights and sounds would bring back memories. One time, when the party had congregated at the Wheeler home for a sleepover, Billy had dropped off Max in his charger and he had been playing _Wango Tango_ on his cassette player. Mike had instantly been taken back to the night when the orderlies had been playing the song at full blast during the night to deprive the patients of sleep. Luckily, El was there and she was able to calm him down. The worst part though, were the nightmares. Almost every single night, Mike was plagued by visions of Superintendent Alvin Weitz. He would see Weitz walking out of his closet, Weitz walking into his room, Weitz crawling through his window; belt in hand and ready to attack. Mike always woke up sweating and screaming. Hopper never got much sleep on those nights because as he learned, El would feel Mike's pain. She would sneak out and ride her new bike over to Mike's house. As Mike laid in sweat and fear, he would see El coming through his window. She would lay in bed next to him and hold him until he fell asleep in her arms. Hopper didn't like it, but there wasn't much he could do.

"I just wish that they weren't always together." He sighed.

"I'm glad that he has her Hop, he needs her." Joyce stated. "Maybe you should get El a super-com, so she doesn't have to go over to Mike's."

"That's a good idea." Hopper replied as he changed the topic to the purpose of his visit. "So...how's Newby been?" Joyce looked away at the sound of his name.

"Not great, we broke up." She explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Jim said, even though he wasn't sorry in the least.

"It's OK, Bob's a sweet guy, but in the end...we just weren't right for each other."

"Joyce...I came over here because I wanted to talk about what happened in Spring City." The Chief explained.

"Hop..." Joyce started to say as Jim interrupted her.

"Please Joyce, let me talk." He begged. "I love you Joyce Byers, I've loved you ever since high school. Despite Lonnie and Diane and Bob, you were always in my heart. That's the honest truth of the matter."

"Hopper!" Joyce stopped him as he went silent.

"Yeah?" He asked as she walked up and kissed him deeply on the lips.

"I love you too." She replied. Jim was surprised as Joyce leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Once the Chief got over his shock, he kissed Joyce back with equal passion. As they pushed back against the wall, they both laughed in spite of themselves.

"You are so sexy Joyce." He said with a smirk.

"So are you Chief." She giggled as they caressed each other. "Hopper?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you try to go a little easier on Mike and Eleven?" Joyce asked.

"But Joyce..." Jim pleaded.

"I know that they're a little more...passionate than most couples their age, but you saw what being apart did to them, look at Eleven!" She pointed out. "She went into Pennhurst and suffered through all of that for him Hop, they love each other!

"I know OK, maybe I should have let her say a word or two, just so that Wheeler knew she was alive."

"I understand that you were just trying to protect her and at some point Mike'll understand too." Hopper nodded as he pulled Joyce close and kissed her with wild passion.


	34. Home At Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike & El are finally at home with each other.

_Hawkins, Indiana. December 9, 1984._

It was that time of year once again. It was the night of the Snow Ball at Hawkins Middle School. All of the kids were excited for the big night, even the party was getting in on it, or most of them. Lucas had asked Max to the Snow Ball and to the surprise of everyone, she agreed. Dustin and Will would be flying solo, hopefully picking up some hot chicks once there. However, there were two members of the party that were surprisingly absent: Mike and Eleven. Chief Hopper had been advised by Dr. Owens that it still wasn't safe for El to be out in the world just yet, so he had tried to gently forbid her from going to said Snow Ball. This would have completely crushed Mike, except for the fact that he was staying home of his own volition. He had remembered the promise that he had made to his one true love about taking her to the Snow Ball, but found that he couldn't bring himself to go even if Hopper had allowed El one night out. One day, he had gone into the gym as the dance committee was setting up and he had been hit with images of the Cotillion on his last night inside Pennhurst. He conceded that dances were simply another thing that he just wasn't ready for. No one had been more surprised at Mike's decision than Chief Jim Hopper himself. A few days before, he had gone over to the Wheeler house to break the news that El couldn't go.

"I'm sorry kid, but Owens says it ain't safe yet." Hopper explained nervously preparing for a fight. "El can't go." Mike felt disappointment for a moment and then shrugged.

"That sucks." He replied.

"That sucks?" the chief asked in shock. "I thought you promised that you would take her?"

"I did and I feel horrible about breaking a promise to El...but i'm kind of glad that you're not letting her go." Mike said quietly.

"You're not going, are you?" Jim deduced.

"I'm not ready chief." Mike stated. "When I went in that gym, my mind went back to Pennhurst and that last night..."

"I understand kid, i'm sorry." Hopper said. Truth be told, he felt bad for the Wheeler boy. Suddenly, he thought of an idea. One he knew that Wheeler would love.

* * *

On the night of the Snow Ball, Mike Wheeler was downstairs in his basement watching movies by himself. His friends had offered to stay with him, but he refused to ruin their fun. As he got ready to start _A New Hope,_ his mom called down.

"Michael, you have a friend here to see you!" She called.

"I told them to go to the Snow Ball!" Mike shouted back. As he sighed, he heard someone coming down the stairs. He looked over and saw that it was El, his El. She had her hair done and she was wearing a dress.

"Hi Mike." She said softly as Mike got up and hugged her.

"You look so beautiful." He said as his love blushed. "What are you doing here?"

"Hopper said you weren't going to the Snow Ball, thought we could have...date night." El replied as Mike made a mental note to kiss the Chief's ass.

"I'd love that!" Mike exclaimed as the two sat down in the pillow fort.

"I'm sorry that I broke my promise to take you to the Snow Ball El." Mike said as they wrapped their arms around one another.

"Being with you...better than cheesy school dance." El assured him as they began to make out. As they laid next to each other in the pillow fort that Mike had made for El so long ago, Mike felt safe in her arms. He knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this girl: El Hopper. She had saved him, in every way that a dude could be saved. He wanted her to know how much she meant to him.

"El..." He said as he broke the kiss and looked into her deep eyes.

"Yes Mike?" She replied, worried that something was wrong.

"I...I...I love you." Mike said as her eyes widened. She had heard people say it on the soap operas and she knew that she felt the same way about Mike, but El had always worried that Mike didn't feel the same way. Now her fears were silenced.

"I love you too." She said as they both pulled each other close. Mike wondered what he had done to deserve this perfect creature? As they kissed the night away, Mike and El took comfort in the fact that finally, after all that they had endured at the hands of the Upside Down and Pennhurst, they were finally home.

* * *

_3 years later on December 7, 1987, Pennhurst State School And Hospital was finally closed by order of the state of Pennsylvania. All of the 3000 patients were moved to other facilities or foster homes and those who were found to be mentally competent were released. The Abandoned campus now stands as a testament to the horrors that went on inside and the administrative building has been converted into a haunted house to capitalize on the horror connected to the asylum. Thanks to the work of journalists like Bill Baldini and Geraldo Rivera, mental institutions have been downgraded and have ceased to be the only option for the mentally disabled._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT IS DONE. TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, I WAS IN WAY OVER MY HEAD WITH THIS STORY, IT PROVED TO BE A LOT MORE PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY DRAINING THEN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE AND A PART OF ME IS GLAD TO BE FINISHED. HOWEVER MY OBSESSION WITH MILEVEN WILL NEVER BE OVER. I AM OPEN TO ANY MILEVEN IDEAS THAT MY READERS MAY HAVE, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO TELL ME ABOUT ANY MILEVEN IDEAS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE WRITTEN DOWN. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.

**Author's Note:**

> WHO IS THE MYSTERIOUS PALADIN? CAN DR. JOSIAH HELP HIM RECOVER HIS MEMORY? REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.


End file.
